The Federal Government has come out to say that the recent doom predictions by previous Vice President, Atiku Abubakar on Nigeria’s debt profile are clearly false.
FG revealed its stance in a recent statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
According to Lai, even if FG accepts constructive criticism, it's to be based on verifiable facts rather than conjectures and innuendos.
He added that the reason why debt service to revenue is high is because revenue generation in Nigeria has been low, with over-dependence on the oil sector.
His words, “There is no doubt that previous Vice President Atiku Abubakar loves our country and wishes it well, otherwise he would not have sustained his serial quest for the country’s highest position.
“One can only hope that his resort to the use of such words as ‘precipice’, ‘foreclosure’ and ‘economic ruin’ doesn't reflect anything however best wishes for the country at this time.”
“We're also not able to ascertain the source of the first quarter figures of N943.12 billion for debt servicing and N950.56 billion for retained revenue, which he also quoted,”
“Therefore, the statement that debt servicing doesn't equate to debt repayment is not only wrong, however ill-informed.”
“One of the reasons why debt service to revenue is high is because revenue generation in Nigeria has been low, with over-dependence on the oil sector.
“This is corroborated by the fact that the ratio of Nigeria’s tax revenue to GDP is one of the lowest in the world at about six per cent.”