A pro-democracy organisation, Global Initiatives for Good Governance (GIGG), has criticised President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government of Nigeria on its decision to borrow four trillion naira to augment tailored deficit budget.
Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari, had last week, asked the House of Representatives to approve N4trillion to fund petroleum subsidies.
President Buhari’s request was contained in a letter read by the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila during plenary session.
In the letter read by Mr Gbajabiamila, the President said the N3 trillion will not be sufficient because of the increase in the price of crude oil which currently averages $100 per barrel.
But, the orgainsation in a statement by the Director-General, Chief Emeka Kalu, forwarded to AFRIPOST on Monday, maintained that Nigeria deserves competent governance and not deception, efficiency and transparency not justice, and frowned on the planned borrowing, as he further regretted was coming on a moment where fuel subsidy syndromes linger and deeply bite Nigeria economic and intestine.
The organisation queried, “how would Nigeria borrow extra 4 trillion naira when the already incurred debts have not been paid, thereby increasing the risks of sovereign debt crisis?
The GIGG regretted that previous borrowing of the funds was not utilised justifiably to develop the failing economic strength nor if the funds were used to provide basic Infrastructural facilities that had long been dilapidated across the Nigeria federation.
The GIGG also insisted that governance in every liberal democracy does not thrive in the face of recklessness and abuse of office using corrupt tendencies to divert public funds, reiterating that “governance is all about accountability and good management of the scarce resources for the sustainability and development of a sovereign society like ours.
The non-governmental organisation emphasized that Nigeria is not meant to be cloned and politically sold off by means of adopting programmes and imposition of orders in the name of running federal presidential system of government.
“We expect Mr President to concentrate on tackling security issues and provide relieving grounds of addressing them, not raising memorandum for extra application for borrowings.
“We also expect Mr President to work on viable modalities capable of transforming the country into a fourth revolution industrial class, rather than, banking the platform of constructive technicalities to project forces meant to siphon and cripple Nigeria’s economy”, he pointed out.
The human rights advocacy, regretted that the increasing rate of poverty in Nigeria is highly accelerated to the point that eighty per cent of the citizens are languishing into abject penury if not totally pauperized, vowing that the citizenry will continue to clamour for accountability and transformation, as no force is capable of gagging them against nailing the truth on the head when situations demand.
“Last week, intelligence reports from the energy experts had it that Nigerian crude oil deposits would soon exhaust and there are no meaningful undertakings fielded to sustain the economy when the oil contents dry up. To which direction is Nigeria actually going”, the GIGG queried.
The orgainzation further reiterated that Nigeria needs not borrow in order to run the government, stressing that the nation’s numerous sources of income ranging from government owned economic crops, oil/gas, internally Generated Revenue etc, regretted that abject poverty is ravaging her citizens beyond measures.
The Global Initiatives For Good Governance, urged the House of Representatives to reject the application of President Buhari for extra loan taking, so that nation will not be totally cloned into a perpetually economic quagmire state.