FG blames previous administrations for current borrowings

The Muhammadu Buhari-led government has a lot to show for the several loans it has taken since inception, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has said.

The News Agency of Nigeria quoted the minister as saying this Thursday in Maiduguri, Borno State, during a Town Hall meeting to address vandalism of power and telecommunications infrastructure.

The event was attended by Governor Babagana Zulun, Deputy Governor Usman Kadafur, traditional rulers, religious and political leaders as well as other stakeholders.

The minister said: “Today, we have new airport terminals in Abuja, Kano, Lagos and Port Harcourt; the Itakpe-Warri rail line that was abandoned for decades is running.

“We have well over 13,000km of federal roads under repair, rehabilitation and reconstruction and there is a road project in every State.

“Today, we have started the countdown to when the 2nd Niger Bridge, which successive administrations have built only on paper, will be completed.”

The Buhari regime faces widespread criticisms over its knack for incessant borrowings which critics believe put the future of the country in danger.

President Buhari had last week sent a fresh $4billion loan request to the National Assembly.

Several persons, including business leaders, opposition parties and former President Olusegun Obasanjo have sounded a note of warning on the excessive borrowing.

Replying the critics however, the minister said those ramping up the criticism of the Buhari administration on borrowing were insincere.

He said it is an irony that those criticising the administration performed abysmally in terms of modernising the nation’s infrastructure when they served at a time earnings were multiples of what they are getting currently.

He said if the previous administration had embarked on the kind of infrastructure development the Buhari government is engaged in, there would be no reason to borrow.

“For example, in their time, they claimed to have spent billions of naira in building infrastructure, but as one can see, their infrastructure projects were only on paper.

“Today, we are still saddled with looking for resources to build the same infrastructure for which they claimed to have allocated huge resources.

“We will not be deterred by the antics of those who believe they can play politics with everything,” Mohammed said.

He said the town hall meeting was the third and final edition of the three-series town hall meeting dedicated to addressing the wanton destruction of public infrastructure.

The minister said efforts by the present administration to address massive infrastructure deficit the country was facing were being thwarted by vandals and their collaborators.

He said Borno was chosen as venue because Maiduguri had been cut off from public power supply since January due to the destruction of power infrastructure by terrorists.

“The terrorists who are destroying power and telecommunication facilities in Borno, have chosen to weaponise these attacks in order to inflict the maximum hardship on the people and also slow down the advances of our gallant troops in decimating them,” he said.

– NAN

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