By Chimaobi Afiauwa, Abuja
Senator representing Ondo South, Jimoh Ibrahim, has charged the newly confirmed governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Yemi Cardoso, to leverage the benefits of borrowing to develop Nigeria’s economy, asking if the apex bank’s chief is afraid of loans.
Despite the alarming debt profile of the country, which totals N87.4 trillion, according to a figure recently released by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Senator Ibrahim said the fact that Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio stands at about 30 percent gives the country opportunities to borrow more.
He stated this on Tuesday during the screening of the CBN governor on the floor of the Senate.
He said, “I don’t know what kind of economic policy you are going to advise our president. Also, why are you afraid of loans? because the GDP-to-debt ratio is about 27–30 percent. This means you have the opportunity to borrow as much as 70 percent of your GDP.
“Dubai has a population of 12 million people, and they are owing $167 billion. They borrowed this money, developed the economy, and are paying it back without difficulty. Is this not the right time to think outside the box?”
