Senator Jimoh Ibrahim has said that the Federal Government must borrow money to run the country’s economy effectively.
The Senator representing Ondo South in the Senate, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, was responding to a question on his earlier support for more borrowings by the government.
“If you don’t borrow to run the economy, what do you want to do? Where do you want to get the funds to run the economy? Dubai, with a population of 12 million people in total, is owing $168 billion and look at what they have used the money to do. They are paying back now at $10 billion a month.
“Now, Nigeria, with a population of 250 million people, owes $77 million, now you have challenges here and there. So, the key issue here has to do with the fact that you must borrow to run the economy,” Ibrahim stressed.
The lawmaker said that borrowing will help the Federal Government build critical infrastructure, enabling it to repay the loan in the long run.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Inter-Parliamentary Affairs, also defended the President Bola Tinubu-led delegation to the ongoing COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
He said that Nigeria might want to host the event in the future and therefore that number of delegates from the country was justified.
He said the 422 persons funded to the event out of the total 1,411 Nigerian registered delegates at the summit weren’t enough.
“Funding (over) 400 people to a conference like this is too small. You may want to host the conference sometimes in future,” he said.
The Senator insisted that the international community won’t take President Tinubu as serious if he was in Dubai with a lean delegation.
Senator Jimoh Ibrahim on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on December 4, 2023, defended the number of Nigerian delegates at the ongoing COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
He said the number of delegates had an influence on knowledge sharing at the event, adding that Nigeria was suffering from the impact of environmental pollution.
He said Nigeria might host the climate summit in the near future, adding that the 422 persons funded to the event out of the total 1,411 Nigerian registered delegates at the summit weren’t enough.
Ibrahim said President Bola Tinubu signed many multimillion-dollar bilateral deals at the summit in Nigeria’s interest.
