Nigeria\u2019s President Muhammadu Buhari has said the country is looking to
\nraise funds by borrowing from World Bank, the African Development Bank,
\nthe Chinese Ex-Im Bank and other development finance partners but with a
\npromise that the borrowed funds would not be frittered away.<\/p>\n
Buhari said in an article published online by Bloomberg that his
\ngovernment had already begun to raise a $1 billion Eurobond, the country\u2019s
\nfirst in three years, as part of broader plans to revive Nigeria\u2019s almost
\ncomatose infrastructure and strengthen local food production capacity.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the face of dwindling oil revenues, we are turning to debt,\u201d Buhari
\nsaid. \u201cWe have begun raising a $1 billion Eurobond, our first in three
\nyears.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are also raising debt from the World Bank, the African Development
\nBank, the Chinese Ex-Im Bank and other development finance partners.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnlike in the past, when borrowed funds were frittered away on
\nunproductive ventures, we will ensure their investment in the revival of
\nstalled road, rail, power and port projects, and in agricultural
\ninitiatives that will significantly boost domestic production of food.\u201d<\/p>\n
The president reaffirmed his commitment to repositioning the country\u2019s
\neconomy but noted that the challenges it currently faces were occasioned
\nby the failure of the country\u2019s past leaders to convert the gains recorded
\nduring years of oil boom \u201cinto more jobs and significant improvements in
\nstandards of living.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nigeria is in recession as a result of plunging global oil prices and
\nproduction but Buhari expressed optimism that with private sector
\npartnering with the government, Nigeria may be able to rebound sooner than
\nlater.<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cThis is why one of our main priorities is creating an
\nenvironment in which private-sector capital can thrive. We are in
\nparticular using Public-Private Partnership models to support
\ngame-changing private-sector projects in power, refining, gas
\ntransportation and fertiliser production.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nigeria \u00a0depends on oil sales for 70 percent of government revenue but
\nthat has been slashed by low prices worldwide in the last two years.<\/p>\n
The situation has complicated the task for the government, which has
\ncomplained of being left a \u201cvirtually empty\u201d treasury by the previous
\nadministration and the theft of vast sums of public funds.<\/p>\n
It has struggled to pay public sector wages, while the naira currency has
\nweakened, foreign exchange dried up and investment stalled.<\/p>\n
However, Buhari said the economic reforms his government put in place has
\nbeen yielding positive results.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur economic recovery plan is already showing positive results,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cInvestment\u2019s share in gross domestic product is at its highest since
\n2010. Inflation is slowing; manufacturing confidence is rising. People are
\nseeing and seizing opportunities to make money catering to the needs of
\nAfrica\u2019s most populous country.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are seeing and seizing opportunities to make money catering to the
\nneeds of Africa\u2019s most populous country.\u201d<\/p>\n
The president hoped the situation would improve\u00a0next month when the
\ngovernment\u2019s ambitious Social Investment Programme would have commenced.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nigeria\u2019s President Muhammadu Buhari has said the country is looking to raise funds by borrowing from World Bank, the African Development Bank, the Chinese Ex-Im Bank and other development finance…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n