Seemingly Worried by the Federal Government’s rate of borrowing, the lawmaker representing Etinan/ Nsit Ibom/ Nsit Ubium Federal Constituency, of Akwa Ibom Onofiok Luke has expressed concern over the sum of N3.9 trillion earmarked for debt servicing in the 2022 Appropriation Bill before the National Assembly.
Luke who was speaking during the debate on the 2022 Appropriation Bill on the floor of the House of Representatives said that it is worrisome to have an amount that represents almost 25 per cent of the whole budget allocated for debt servicing.
According to Luke, another source of concern is that the proposal has a deficit of N6.2 trillion and the government is proposing new borrowings to finance this deficit which according to him implies that the total public debt of Nigeria is expected to rise to N5 trillion in 2022 fiscal year.
In his opinion he held that debt parameters should be revenue- debt ratio and not debt – GDP ratio as revenue pays debt and not GDP.
