Buhari Repaying Loans Borrowed By Jonathan, Yar’adua, Obasanjo, Past Military – Senate

Senate claims that Buhari is repaying loans borrowed by Jonathan, Yar’adua, Obasanjo, past military leaders.

The Chairman Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Solomon Olamilekan Adeola has blamed former Nigerian leaders for the country’s high debt profile.

Senator Adeola spoke on Wednesday during consideration of the 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper.

According to him, a huge part of Nigeria’s total debt profile roughly estimated at N35trillion naira were incurred by past administrations dating back to the military era.

The lawmaker stressed that the Buhari administration has no choice but to pay back all these loans that have been borrowed during the military era and ex-Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and Goodluck Jonathan administrations between 1999 and 2015.

Senate Blames Nigeria’s Debt Profile On Past Leaders

Senator Adeola said, “A huge part of Nigeria’s total debt profile roughly estimated at N33trillion naira were incurred by past administrations dating back to the military era.”

“Majority of the loans being repaid presently by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration were ones accumulated from the times of the military to those of the PDP administration under Ex-Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan, between 1999 and 2015.

“The borrowing you are saying is accumulated borrowing. It is not a borrowing of this administration alone, it is a borrowing that stems from the days of the military to the days when the democratic dispensation started.

“It is an accumulated loan, it is not a loan that says that it is the current administration of President Buhari that has borrowed.

“It is a loan that has been borrowed by the previous administration – the Obasanjo, the Jonathan, the Yar’Adua of this world.

“[And] since the business of government is a continuum, the President of the day has no choice but to continue to pay back all these loans that have been borrowed by the previous administrations.

“More than three-quarters of these loans you’re seeing were borrowed from the previous administrations, and we are paying back – we are doing what is supposed to be done, the way it is supposed to be done.

“So, when my colleague said that for every sixty-seven naira of any loan that was borrowed, we are using to pay, he should know that more than sixty naira of it are loans borrowed by the previous administration. And that is where we are.”

What You Should Know About Nigeria’s Debt Profile

Data from the Debt Management Office showed that at the end of March 2021, Nigeria’s public debt hit a total of N33.12tn, which means in the last six years under Buhari, the country’s debt rose by N21tn.

As of the end of June 2015, one month after Buhari came into power, the country’s debt profile stood at N12.12tn. It means that the country’s debt profile has risen by 173.27 percent within the six-year period.

KanyiDaily recalls that Obasanjo had recently slammed the Buhari administration over its continuous borrowing to fund recurrent expenditure, saying it is criminal and foolish to accumulate debts for the next generation.