PROFESSOR OKEY ONUCHUKWU ADVISES THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT NOT TO BORROW MORE MONEY FOR RECURRENT EXPENDITURE BUT FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS.

A University Don, Professor Okey Onuchukwu has advised the Federal Government not to borrow more money for recurrent expenditure but for capital projects.

Professor Onuchukwu of the Department of Economics, University of Port Harcourt in an interview with our reporter, Sylverline Nweke observed that most of the monies borrowed in the past were not expended on capital projects or establishment of industries that would generate revenue for the country and were unaccounted for.

He said the Federal Government claimed that the drop in the price of crude oil during the COVID-19 lockdown was responsible for lack of funds to finance capital projects but with the price now seventy five Dollars per barrel, Nigeria is generating more revenue from oil which should be utilized for bankrolling capital projects and not to borrow from the World Bank.

Professor Onuchukwu who noted that insecurity was negatively affecting food production and raw materials for industries stressed that many farmers were afraid to go to their farms and urged the Federal Government to tackle the menace of armed herdsmen destroying farmlands with their cattle.

Other public affairs analysts interviewed including Ogbonda Owuru and Mrs. Hope Wakama, noted that other nations secure loans to fund infrastructure and investments to boost their economy and revenue base not for consumption or payment of salaries.

According to the duo, the government also has to streamline the repayment plan and not accumulate debt for the next government to stagnate and enslave the populace.

They opined that if Nigerian leaders were accountable to the people that voted them in , it would have been ideal for them to itemize what they had achieved with previous loans before seeking approval for new loans.

It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had sought the National Assembly’s approval to access a four billion Dollars loan as Nigeria’s total debt profile hits thirty-five trillion Naira.