Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga has again defended the Tinubu administration’s borrowing habits, dismissing critics as economically and financially ignorant.
On Monday, Chairman of the Alliance for Economic Research and Ethics LTD/GTE, Dele Oye decried the steep rise in public debt under Tinubu, describing it as unprecedented.
Oye, who is the immediate past Chairman of the Organised Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN), stated that the administration has incurred N65.9 trillion debt in the last 24 months, which he said was more than five times the total debt Nigeria incurred in the first 55 years of its Independence.
In an X post on Tuesday, Onanuga insisted that Nigeria has maintained a healthy debt-to-GDP ratio despite increased borrowing compared to other huge African economies such as South Africa and Egypt.
He highlighted analysis by a pro-government analyst who noted that Egypt has a total debt estimated at over $400 billion and a GDP around $390 billion, with over 100% debt-to-GDP, while South Africa’s public debt stands at $580 billion and GDP around $420 billion, roughly 135% debt-to-GDP.
“Nigeria’s total public debt is about $110 billion, with a GDP around $340 billion — roughly 35% debt-to-GDP,” the analyst, @Big_marvis, stated.
Quoting the post, Onanuga averred that alarm being raised about the nation’s rising debt was unwarranted.
He said, “Nigeria has not over borrowed compared to countries like Egypt, South Africa and West African country of Senegal.
“Nigeria is credit worthy and can still take more loans to finance infrastructure. The unwarranted alarm against loans is symptomatic of economic and financial ignorance.”
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