President Muhammadu Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has requested the Senate to approve  his intention to obtain an $800m loan from external lenders. The Government claims the loan is needed to finance social investments. This is an egregious request as the President will leave office this month. Who are the previous beneficiaries of the social investment projects executed by his Government? What is the distribution of the beneficiaries in terms of states of origin and geographical zones? Why did the officials who distributed the funds in the past prefer to give physical cash to beneficiaries? Why didn’t the Minister in charge ensure that beneficiaries’ were credited? Were the beneficiaries documented? How many of the beneficiaries have been lifted out of poverty? Clearly, there was no audit trail for past disbursements.

If the Buhari Administration takes the $800 million loan, how does it plan to repay? What are the repayment sources? President Buhari is bequeathing a humongous debt stock to Nigerians. The Debt Management Office reported that the country’s debt stock rose to N46.25 trillion or $103.11 billion at the end of 2022. It must have risen further thereby putting the economy in a precarious situation. The Senate should place national interest above President Buhari’s interest and reject the loan request. The President and his team should allow the incoming Government to devise its own social intervention programmes. There should be no need to exacerbate the current economic quagmire of Nigeria. The desperation for the loan will give us the impression that some officials are searching for retirement benefits after May 29.

This is the time for President Buhari to demonstrate that he is a leader of impeccable character. He should not take the loan. If he goes ahead to take the loan, then his Government will be remembered for pre-bendalism, kakistocracy and kleptocracy. Enough!

Long live, Nigeria.

                                                Adebiyi Adesuyi

A Banker and Public Affairs Analyst, Adebiyi Adesuyi, is the Managing  Director of Wealthgate Advisors.