Senator-elect for Ondo South Senatorial District, Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim, says Nigeria could repay all its foreign debts within 90 days.
Describing how such a feat could be achieved, Ibrahim said in an interview on Channel TV’s Politics Today, that he had a strategy that could see Nigeria become debt-free in as little as 90 days.
He cited the example of Dubai with a population of 12m, which he claims owes $167bn, wondering what stops Nigeria from borrowing even more when her debt ratio to GDP is just about 30%, giving room to as large as 70% for further borrowing.
When asked if adding more debts to Nigeria’s existing debt issue won’t be counter-productive, said it shouldn’t be.
He explained that what the federal government should do is to take a loan of five to 10 times what the country currently owes from five to six different EXIM banks, including China.
He said the country could then do a bridge-gap financing and paying off the current debt from the new loan.
“All you need to do is call five, six EXIM banks, including China EXIM Bank, take a loan of about 10 times or five times of whatever you’re owing currently, and then do a bridge-gap financing, and then pay off what you are owing,” Ibrahim said.
He said that apart from solving Nigeria’s debt problem, the action will give the country a financial boost, with more fund left to spare after the loan payment.
When questioned about the feasibility of the plan and the possibility of getting the banks to agree to a loan deal, he said, “They’ll give you because you’re having a 46-year repayment schedule and 10-year moratorium period.”
“Within the 10 years, put your house in order because you will now freeze 50% of that debt servicing in your budget to zero in year one. Then, you have money to develop the economy,” he added.
Advising President Bola Tinubu to surround himself with knowledgeable people, he said, “You need knowledgeable people. Knowledge is not just something you get on the road. You have to work for it and get it out”.
Asked if he had pitched the idea to Tinubu, he said he hadn’t been in touch with the president in recent times and that they last had a chat on abandoned projects during the campaign.
See the video, courtesy, Channels TV
