FG: We Borrow N600 Billion Monthly to Augment Salaries

The Federal government has again owned up to the crumbling economy of the nation, lamenting that it borrows an average of N600 billion every month to augment payment of workers’ salaries.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 63rd General Church Council (GCC) of Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) held at ECWA headquarters in Jos on Tuesday, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr David Babachir Lawal, who represented President Mohammadu Buhari further lamented that the Buhari-led administration inherited a country that had been robbed to the last coffer, hence leaving an ailing economy that must be nurtured and endured for some time before its stabilises.

He said: “the federal government borrows an average of N600 billion monthly; and Federal Government gets N130 billion, and sometimes if it is lucky, it gets N200 billion from Federation allocation, and we have an expenditure profile of roughly N800 billion to N900 billion. Naturally, you need to augment sources from everywhere and from wherever you can find it.

“I’m talking about local borrowings, not international. There are ways and means to raise the money, because the monies coming from the Federal allocation is not enough and the figures is not fixed; it varies from month to month, depending on what enters into the treasury and our own share of it federation account, just like the states.”