There is little or no alternative to Nigeria borrowing because the previous government, headed by ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, left an empty treasury, former Ogun State governor, Olusegun Osoba, has said.
He stated this in an interview on Arise TV on Tuesday.
Osoba’s comment came on the heels of the N7.3 trillion Ways and Means funds borrowed by the Tinubu administration.
He said: “When the treasury was empty and the last administration was borrowing to pay salaries, the whole place was empty. What else can you do other than in the meantime, borrowing to fill the gap?
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“That does not mean that the culture of borrowing will go on forever. It’s only serving us for now. You met an empty treasury. There was nowhere to turn other than to still engage in a bit of borrowing. After the first year in office, the whole thing will be reviewed and we will see.
“Talking of borrowing, when your pocket is empty, you have to go to your bank to shore you up for some time. It depends on how you manage that situation.
“I have explained to you that we are lucky, but by June 1, the whole system was set up to totally collapse. I’m telling you, if he (Tinubu) didn’t go the way the government had to go (things would have collapsed).”
On hoarding of cash, Osoba said President Bola Tinubu will sign an Executive Order to encourage Nigerians against hoarding money.
“During my discussion with President Tinubu on Christmas Day, he disclosed to me that he is preparing a document to encourage Nigerians to bring out hidden funds that are currently out of the banking system and causing cash scarcity,” he said.
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