By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The plan of President Muhammadu Buhari to seek a loan of $30b loan from foreign financial institutions is still generating reactions and the latest person to talk about the issue is the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr John Odigie-Oyegun.
According to the former Governor of Edo State, in order to grow the economy, which is presently ‘snoring’ in recession, the Federal Government must borrow.
It would be recalled that few weeks ago, the Senate turndown the President’s request to borrow $30 billion because the executive did not state how it intends to spend and repay the loan.
Also, several Nigerians have kicked against the plan, arguing that the President Buhari-led administration was planning to plunge the country into more debts.
But the APC National Chairman, throwing his weight behind the move, pointed out that Nigeria has reached the point it has to get the loan.
“If you read the newspapers, you hear the President being advised to pump money into the economy. So the question is where is the money coming from? Simple!
“It has to come from somewhere, including borrowing, both internal and external. To get this country going again, you have to pay contractors. Some contractors have not been paid for 10 years,” Mr Oyegun said on Sunday in Lagos.
He emphasised that to allow people to have money to consume, to buy goods, to pay for services so that factories can produce, the country must seek for money, including obtaining loans, adding that, “We must kick-start the economy and to kick-start it will need money, lots of money.”
The party chief, who was at a programme put together for him by the Warri Choral Society, further said as long as the loan was not being taken to pay salaries, but to invest to create opportunities, solve electricity problems and things like that, there was nothing wrong with it.
He expressed confidence that Mr Buhari will not borrow to pay salaries.
Adedapo Adesanya