Peter Dada, Akure
The Chairman of the Ondo State chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Mr Peter Akingbade has called on the Federal Government to seek ways of reducing its domestic debt for the betterment and improvement of the country’s economy.
He said there was the need for the government to stop borrowing from Nigerian banks to finance projects or establish businesses, noting that the cost of servicing the debt in the country was too high.
The ICAN boss stated this after his investiture as the chairman of the Ondo State ICAN on Friday in Akure, the state capital.
He pointed out that the Federal Government has set aside N1.8tn for debt servicing in 2017 budget alone, this according to him was on the high side.
Akingbade said, “You can imagine what N1.8tn can do and where the problem really lies is not that Nigeria cannot borrow but when you borrow internally from Nigeria, the interest rate is very high. If you borrow from abroad, the interest rate is low.
“We have to look for a way to reduce our domestic debt so that the cost of servicing our debts will not be too high.”
The ICAN boss lamented that the Net Present Value of foreign debt when compared to the Gross Domestic Product and the public debt showed the nation was in a financial mess.
Akingbade, however, suggested that every citizen should contribute to the development of the country’s economy, saying the matter should not be left for financial experts only.
According to him, the country should look for the areas of comparative advantage and focus on them.
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