Fed Govt Uncomfortable Exceeding Borrowing Limit – Ahmed

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, has said the Federal Government is very uncomfortable with the fact that it exceeded the borrowing threshold in the Fiscal Responsibility Act.

Ahmed, who spoke at the ongoing 27th National Economic Summit in Abuja on Monday, said the Federal Government planned to scale down borrowing in the coming years.

President Muhammadu Buhari and the minister have been under fire for the country’s rising debt level, which the Debt Management Office put at N35.47tn as of June 30, 2021.

The minister said, “We tried to borrow more than planned because of the COVID-19. We are very uncomfortable at the fact that we have borrowed at the quantum exceeding the threshold that is outlined by the Fiscal Responsibility Act.

“But we have made sure that we have planned over the next few years that the borrowing is scaled down, and also that we are able to borrow at levels that we can actually repay the debt service obligation.

“So, our borrowing is not just being done blindly; it is guided by laws. It is guided by a medium-term debt plan; we have a board at the Debt Management Office that is chaired by his Excellency the Vice President.

“So, we actually plan these things. I feel discomfort from the polity that we are borrowing too much, we are going to leave debts that the future generation has to take part in.

“I think if the conversation can move towards ‘What are they doing with the money that they are borrowing?’ We do need to build this critical infrastructure now for us to have a chance to attain the minimum seven per cent growth that his Excellency the President has set.”