Nigeria needs an inflow of $10 billion (N1.6 trillion) annually for the next 10 years to fix its infrastructural deficits, the Director General of the Debt Management Office, Abraham Nwankwo, has said.
Nwankwo, who spoke on Monday in Abuja after a meeting of the supervising board of the DMO, said he country’s debt profile of N6.3 trillion domestic debt and $6.29 billion foreign debt are sustainable.
The meeting was presided over by Vice President Namadi Sambo, who is the chairman of the board.
Other members of the board include the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke; the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi; the Chief Economic Adviser in the office of the Vice President; the Accountant General of the Federation, Niyi Otunla; and Nwankwo.
Explaining why the country will continue to borrow, Nwkankwo said for Nigeria to be able to close the infrastructure gap, it needs all the funds that can be tapped into.
He said: “So, as you know Nigeria has huge infrastructural deficits and experts have estimated that you require a minimum of $10 billion inflow per annum, a conservative estimate. $10 billion dollars per annum for us to close the infrastructural deficits over the next 10 years.
” And every economy, when you have a gap, your challenge is the best way, the ultimate way to close that gap.
“So, in our own case, government is finding ways of making sure we maximize internal revenue for the purpose of funding our various needs, including infrastructure.
“That is why you can see that there has been a lot of improvement over the last two years in the revenue collections from various sources, including the Customs and the Inland Revenue.”
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