Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has given justification for the acquisition of loans by the Buhari led administration.
The minister said this on Thursday at a town-hall meeting to address the destruction of power and communication infrastructure in Maiduguri, Borno state.
The minister said what the government was doing with the loans is self-evident.
“Naysayers have recently ramped up their criticism of the Buhari administration for borrowing. These critics are insincere. We are not borrowing for recurrent expenditure or to pay salaries,” he said.
We are borrowing to build world-class infrastructure that will benefit generations of Nigerians. We have a lot to show for the loans we have taken.
According to Lai Muhammed, “There is a road project in every state. Today, we have started the countdown to when the second Niger bridge, which successive administrations have built only on paper, will be completed.
Although he did not list the projects as he claimed it’s a long list.
Muhammed lamented on the destruction of public infrastructure, saying, “For example, we were told that it would cost the federal government N3.8 billion to repair just four bridges that were damaged by vandals and petrol-laden tankers,” he said.
“That’s a huge amount that could have been used to build new infrastructure. It is common knowledge that a massive infrastructure deficit is among the challenges we face in Nigeria.
“This is why the Muhammadu Buhari administration has deliberately adopted an inclusive infrastructure provisioning framework that spreads to all sections of the country,” he stated.
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