Nigeria’s debt profile out of control, says El-Rufai

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has expressed concern over the rising debt profile of the country.

El-Rufai, who bemoaned the humongous debt incurred by the country, said the country must do something to halt the alarming rise of its debt.

He stated that there was no need to pretend that Nigeria’s debt to Gross Domestic Product ratio was still low adding that the country is getting to debt ceiling as far as liquidity is concerned,

The Debt Management Office issued a release in September this year that showed the country’s debt stock as of June 30, 2020.

According to the release from DMO, the country’s debt portfolio was N31trn.

El-Rufai, who spoke at a virtual event organised by World Bank Nigeria, noted that most rich Nigerians did not pay income tax.

The governor, who has been advocating state policing, noted that as the Chief Security Officer of his state it has been hard to adequately fund security because the government has incurred numerous debts.

El-Rifai said the Central Bank of Nigeria’s involvement in many activities should be addressed, adding that the country’s rising debt should be controlled.

He said, “You can’t fund security more than you are doing now unless you reduce spending on other ministries, departments, and agencies.

“The extensive way in which the Central Bank is into everything, I think, has to be addressed and dealt with. And we must look at our domestic debt management and do something about it.

“It is getting out of control and we are getting to our debt ceiling as far as liquidity is concerned. And to pretend that our debt-to-GDP ratio is still low, I think is not the answer to the question.”

On the collection of taxes by the federal and state governments, El-Rufai said it was worrisome to note that many rich Nigerians defaulted in the payment of taxes.

He said, “It is a travesty that in Nigeria, as of 2018, just about 20 people in the whole country paid more than N20m in income tax. It is a travesty and something should be done.”

The governor said the federal and state governments should shift attention from those early paltry salaries and those at the lowest ranks of the professional ladder and focus on the rich people when it comes to the collection of tax.

He said, “I think that rich Nigerians don’t pay taxes. They live in huge houses, drive expensive cars but when you see their tax return, you realise that the civil servants on grade level 12 pay more income tax than they do.”