The House of Representatives yesterday grilled the Director-General, Debt Management Office (DMO), Patience Oniha, over the rise in domestic debts totalling over N3.3 trillion.
The Chairman, House Committee on Aids, Loans and Debt Management, Ahmed Safana, expressed surprise at the astronomical increase in Nigeria’s debt profile and rejected continuous borrowing by the federal government.
The lawmaker criticised the DMO for overseeing a huge increase in domestic and external debts by the government.
He said there was a N1 trillion increase in the country’s debt profile in the last one year, and called on the DMO, as the relevant agency, to halt the frequency of borrowing.
Oniha had said the domestic debt profile stood at N3.685 trillion and an additional N2.57 billion from external borrowing by government.
The Committee said borrowings by the government at any level must be tied to specific projects and demanded details of the N3.55 trillion earmarked for borrowing in the 2023 budget.
At the budget session, a member of the Committee, Emeka Azubogu, decried the frequent borrowings while others demanded details of the DMO personnel cost and the number of its employees.
Borrowings by the government at any level must be tied to specific projects and demanded details of the N3.55 trillion earmarked for borrowing in the 2023 budget.
Another member, Steve Azaiki, advised the federal government to engage consultants to be able to access funds from the $70 billion climate change fund in the United States.
Also, Promise Dike demanded that the agency submits to the Committee all details of the assets sold, payment made and outstanding debts owed to DMO under privatisation.
Responding, Ms Oniha said domestic debt profile rose from N3.2 trillion in 2022 to N3.3 trillion in 2023 due to high interest rate from borrowed funds from domestic and international sources.
She said that borrowing was a collective responsibility and there was a need for the lawmakers to look at borrowing of funds by the government from macro-economic perspectives. (NAN)
