Nigeria’s Minister of Finance has refuted claims that the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration is leaving behind a backlog of debt to the tune of $63 billion.
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who spoke at a forum organized by finance correspondents in Abuja, the nation’s capital, noted that the explained that the amount was the total debt profile the nation owed between 1960 to date. While noting that President Jonathan’s administration has the lowest debt profile in the nation’s history, she added that borrowed funds were used to stimulate growth in critical sectors which include the rail, agriculture and power sectors.
The APC National Chairman, Chief John Oyegun, had lamented during a retreat organised for newly elected senators of the APC, that it would take over 228 years to repay Nigeria’s debt, which they said was accumulated by the outgoing administration.
But Dr. Okonjo-Iweala pointed out that the outgoing administration has done measurably well in maintaining low inflation rate, building road networks and improving agricultural productivity, among other accomplishments.
