The Debt Management Office, DMO has directed the National Assembly to take measure to control the deficit in the annual appropriation bills to reduce the debt profile of the country.
Director-General of DMO Patience Oniha made the call at the public hearing on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Finance.
She explained that the budget deficit has been the main contributing factor to the country’s debt profile, noting that the debt profile will continue to grow as long as lawmakers continue to pass deficit budgets.
The Expenditure Framework proposal before the National Assembly has an estimated budget deficit of N11.03 trillion which represents 5.01 per cent deficit/gross domestic product, GDP ratio which is above the recommended edge by the Fiscal Responsibility Commission.
According to Patience, the debt profile of the federal government and the sub-national stands at 41.6 trillion naira, adding that the borrowing has increased in the post-COVID-19 era as the debt stock has risen by about 9 trillion naira.
The Director-General stressed that to address the growing borrowings the lawmakers must scrutinize the budget proposal, adding that revenue must grow at a significant rate to address the gap in the budget.
Responding to the DMO comments, the Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Saidu Abdulahi said the concern should be about sustainability, noting that the need for borrowing will always be there and Nigeria must borrow.
