Don’t borrow to finance recurrent expenditures – Prof Akande

Secretary of Council to the American Chartered Institute of Management and Leadership, Prof Asiwaju Busari Akande has cautioned the federal government of Nigeria against unnecessary borrowings to finance recurrent expenditures.

As of December 2023, the Senate approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to borrow $7.8bn and €100m as part of the federal government’s 2022-2024 borrowing plan.

While asking for the approval, Tinubu said the foreign loan was necessary to bridge the financial gap and return normalcy to economic activities in the country.

In an interview in Calabar, Prof Busari, who is also a finance expert, advised that borrowing should be focused on capital expenditure and human capital development.

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He said: “We continue to borrow to finance recurrent expenditures, which has no significant impact on economic growth.”

Akande also spoke about the recent budget padding saga, which he said constitutes tools for inflation that they call ‘demand pull inflation’

Akande said what most people don’t realise is that, budget padding fosters corruption, underdevelopment, unemployment and multidimensional poverty.

He called on President Bola Tinubu to stop all forms of financial leakages in the system.