By Moses Patience Chat
The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has expressed concerns over Nigeria’s N77 trillion public debt, which it described as “mind blowing” for a debt profile at the first quarter of the year 2023.
The President, PENGASSAN, Mr Festus Osifo, said this while addressing stakeholders at the 7th edition of the Association’s Triennial National Delegates Conference on Thursday in Abuja, with the theme: “Equity and Social Justice Advocacy for Equal Opportunities for all Workers.”
He further stated that poor implementation of fiscal and monetary policies and policy inconsistencies are the factors working against the economic growth and development of the country. Osifo also called on the incoming administration to seek other means of revenue generation and to avoid excessive dependence on revenue from oil and gas.
According to the Debt Management Office (DMO), Nigeria’s total public debt profile, representing domestic and external debt stocks of the 36 state governments and the FCT, currently stands at N77 trillion.
This, the PENGASSAN President said, “is quite alarming, mostly when you compare the cost of servicing this debt to the revenue generated by government per annum. In the 2023 budget for instance, we will be using virtually all the monies generated as a country in servicing our debt.
“This is a calamity of the highest proportion unless we do all we can to increase the revenue base. While we do not condemn borrowing, we insist that borrowed funds should not be used for consumption, but channelled into productive ventures and infrastructural development.’’