Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has faulted President Bola Tinubu over his assertion that borrowing is not leprosy, dismissing the president’s position as “absolute nonsense”.
Obasanjo made the remarks on Friday in Abeokuta, Ogun State, while speaking at the Ajibosin Platform, a public forum themed “Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to solve grassroots problems and accelerate National Development.”
Tinubu had, in April, defended his administration’s continued borrowing, arguing that taking loans should not automatically attract negative perceptions as long as the country works towards repayment.
The president made the statement at the State House during a meeting with Plateau State leaders led by Governor Caleb Mutfwang and the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda.
“If we have to borrow, we borrow.
Borrowing is not leprosy, we just have to work hard to be able to pay for it,” Tinubu had said.
His comments came amid growing public concerns over Nigeria’s rising debt profile and the increasing proportion of government revenue being allocated to debt servicing.
