$81.274bn Debt: Why Nigeria May Become Bankrupt – Obasanjo warns

Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo has lamented the rising debt accumulation by the President Buhari Muhammadu-led administration.

While speaking at the ‘why I am Alive’ campaign in Lagos on Friday, the former president said the country faces the risk of impending bankruptcy.

According to him, as at 2015, Nigeria’s total external debt was about $10.32bn. By March 2019, Obasanjo said Nigeria’s external debt had increased to $81.274bn.

“Such a situation talks about an impending bankruptcy. No entity can survive while devoting 50 per cent of its revenue to debt servicing.

“It has recently been pointed out that in 2018 that total debt servicing took over 60 per cent of government revenue.

“What’s more, we are not doing enough to address the fundamental, deep-seated and structural challenges that inhibit the expansion of our economy,”  said Obasanjo.

He also lambasted the current administration for currently seeking to add another $29.6bn loan to “our already overburdened debt portfolio.”