World Bank disagrees with Adeosun on borrowing

The World Bank has disagreed with the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, on the need for the Federal Government to borrow more in order to develop the nation’s infrastructure and stimulate the economy.

The World Bank spoke through its Senior Economist, Gloria Joseph-Raji, on Monday in Abuja, saying that the cost of borrowing or paying interest on Nigeria’s debt was not sustainable as revenues to make such payment had dried up.

Joseph-Raji said, “Nigeria has a decent debt-to-GDP ratio, currently about 19 per cent. It is the debt to revenue ratio that is of concern and that rate is a sustainable issue. That is of concern to us and that is also of concern to the government.

The World Bank expert said she was concerned about the sustainability of the country’s debt, especially the huge domestic borrowing with high interest rate, which prompted the Debt Management Office to come up with a strategy to rebalance the country’s debt portfolio.