A political economist, Prof. Pat Utomi, on Wednesday said that it was not advisable for Nigeria to take any loan at this point in the nation’s history.
Utomi spoke in a telephone interview with newsmen in Lagos, on the heels of plans by the Federal Government to borrow money for some pipeline projects in the country.
?President Goodluck Jonathan had on Tuesday asked the Senate to approve a request for external borrowing of about US$7.9 billion (about N1.3 trillion), under the medium term (2012-2014) external borrowing plan, for the projects which were at various stages of finalisation.
The President, in a letter to the Senate, had said that the loans sought, which amounted to about US$2.64 billion a year, represented cumulative facilities offered by the World Bank, African Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, Exim Bank of China and Indian lines of credit
Speaking on the move, Utomi said: “With the corruption level in Nigeria, such a loan may not be properly utilised, despite the good intentions of the President.
“In principle, such a loan is not bad, ability to repay and proper utilisation must be considered in obtaining such a loan.
“It is either that commercially, such a loan creates a major source of wealth to enable the government pay back or it improves infrastructure that will in turn enable opportunities that can bring in tax that will guarantee payment.
“With what is on ground in the petroleum sector, action must be stayed on such a loan until all issues of corruption in the sector and generally in other sectors, are effectively brought under control,” Utomi said.
President Goodluck Jonathan had told the Senate that the objectives of the pipeline projects conformed to the transformation agenda of the current administration and cut across various sectors of the economy.
According to Jonathan, the initiatives were meant to put the economy on track through growth and employment.
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