Osinbajo Says Buhari Will Inherit $60b Debt From Jonathan

The Vice President elect, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, on Wednesday said that the incoming Muhammadu Buhari administration will be inheriting about $60 billion as foreign and domestic debt from the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

He was speaking at the opening of a two -day policy dialogue on the implementation of the agenda for change.

He said: “We are concerned that our economy is currently in perhaps its worst moment in history. Local and international debt stands at $60 billion. Our debt servicing bill for 2015 is N953.6 billion, about 21 per cent of our Budget. On account of severely dwindled resources, over two-thirds of the states in Nigeria owe salaries. Federal institutions are not in much better shape. Today, the nation borrows to fund recurrent expenditure.

“The figures of extreme poverty in our society- 110 million by current estimates- makes it clear that our biggest national problem is the extreme poverty of the majority. Thus, no analysis is required to conclude that dealing with poverty and its implications is a priority.