.
Economist, Professor Akpan Ekpo, has urged the Federal Government to place its proposed exterior borrowing on maintain, insisting that Nigeria should deal with transparency considerations, strengthen public monetary administration and prioritise manufacturing to realize sustainable financial development.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday, Ekpo stated borrowing was not inherently mistaken however have to be backed by correct feasibility research, cost-benefit analyses and clear plans for deploying the funds.
He stated, “There’s nothing really wrong in borrowing, whether you’ve done your analysis well and you are borrowing to finance capital projects, which implies that the project will have gone through a cost-benefit analysis or feasibility studies before you borrow.”
He recognized transparency and accountability as the main considerations surrounding the federal government’s borrowing plans, stressing that Nigerians should know what borrowed funds are getting used for and have the ability to assess the outcomes.
He stated, “The problem we have, in my view, is that the issue of transparency and accountability in terms of borrowing, as I’ve said, the main focus should be what are we using the borrowed money for. When you say roads and so on and so forth, it’s very opaque.”
Ekpo maintained that investments in energy, safety, healthcare and training should produce measurable outcomes, including that the federal government ought to show the influence of such initiatives inside three to 4 years.
He additionally questioned the adequacy of legislative oversight over the borrowing requests, warning that the National Assembly should totally look at the proposals earlier than granting approval.
He stated, “My worry is that the parliament, the senate, when I look at what they do, the oversight is not thorough enough.”
The economist additional warned that borrowing with out corresponding infrastructure would place an unfair burden on future generations, who would inherit the debt with out benefiting from the initiatives financed.
He stated, “One is you have to consider the intergenerational aspect. Because what we are borrowing today, we will not pay for it. It’s our children and grandchildren.”
Questioning the result of earlier borrowing workout routines, Ekpo stated, “We’ve been borrowing for the last so many years. What has been the outcome? And here, I’m not holding a brief for any party. I’m talking as an economist and an expert.”
He additionally expressed concern concerning the timing of the proposed borrowing, noting that the request for about 20 billion {dollars} and 1.73 billion euros, coming two or three months earlier than an election, was worrisome.
He warned that elevated borrowing might inject more cash into the economic system and ultimately contribute to inflationary pressures.
On Nigeria’s debt sustainability, Ekpo argued that the nation’s debt-to-revenue ratio was a extra necessary measure than its debt-to-GDP ratio, given the nation’s dependence on oil exports and the volatility of oil costs and manufacturing.
He stated, “The debt revenue issue to me is much more important than the debt GDP ratio. Because when I last checked, most of our revenue comes from oil export. And that revenue source is not that – there’s not much guarantee because the oil price, we have no control. The output, we have no control. So it’s very volatile.”
He added that the nation couldn’t sustainably rely upon income sources over which it had little management to finance growth.
Ekpo additionally raised considerations concerning the low launch of funds for capital expenditure, describing the scenario as severe and calling for a assessment of the complete finances course of.
Turning to Nigeria’s financial development ambitions, the economist recognized manufacturing as crucial to reaching the Federal Government’s one-trillion-dollar economic system goal by 2030.
He famous that the sector had contributed lower than 12 per cent to Nigeria’s GDP during the last 60 years, whereas manufacturing exports accounted for about two per cent of complete exports.
According to him, manufacturing imports represented 48 per cent of complete imports in 2025, highlighting the nation’s continued dependence on imported merchandise.
He stated, “If you want to enhance growth in our economy and become industrialized, you have to look at the manufacturing sector. That’s what we’ve been looking at.”
Ekpo argued that authorities insurance policies ought to create an enabling atmosphere for producers, encourage exports and strengthen home manufacturing to generate international alternate.
He stated, “So without being productive, we cannot go anywhere. So that’s what I’m saying, that sector is crucial.”
The economist additionally known as for higher help for small and medium-sized enterprises, questioning why current authorities insurance policies had failed to supply the anticipated outcomes.
He attributed the challenges partly to administrative, recognition, operational and implementation delays in authorities coverage execution.
Addressing considerations concerning the proportion of multilateral loans spent on consultants, Ekpo acknowledged that consultants carried out needed technical work however maintained that Nigeria had enough native experience to strengthen its public monetary administration system.
He stated, “Nigeria has enough experts to do these things and even ignore the World Bank and the IMF. And it has been done before in this country.”
He reiterated the necessity for transparency, complete legislative oversight and productive investments, warning that Nigeria’s economic system remained at a crossroads with out basic enhancements in home manufacturing.
Boluwatife Enome
Follow us on:
