The Presidency on Tuesday defended Nigeria’s borrowing profile, insisting that the country has not accumulated debt at the level of nations like Egypt, South Africa and Senegal.
Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, said this in a post on X, reacting to concerns over Nigeria’s rising debt profile under the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
Nigeria is still creditworthy and capable of getting more loans to fund infrastructure projects across the country, Onanuga said.
“Compared to countries like Egypt, South Africa and West African country of Senegal, Nigeria has not over borrowed. Nigeria is creditworthy and can still borrow more to finance infrastructure.
“The irrational panic about loans is a symptom of economic and financial illiteracy,” he wrote.
His comments followed a post by an X user @Akinwumi who argued that Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio is still lower than Egypt and South Africa.
The user argued that loans for infrastructure, electricity, transport, internet expansion, railway modernization, port reforms, agriculture and energy projects should be looked at as long-term investments that can drive economic growth and national development.
