LCCI urges FG to reduce funds for debts servicing

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Friday urged the Federal Government to reduce the funds being allocated to service the nation’s debts.

Mr Muda Yusuf, the LCCI Director-General, said in an interview in Ota, Ogun, that the reduction had become necessary to enable the government to provide infrastructure development.

President Muhammadu Buhari had on Wednesday presented N7. 298 trillion 2017 budget to the joint session of the National Assembly.

President Buhari, while presenting the budget had said, “This fiscal plan will result in a deficit of N2.36 trillion for 2017 which is about 2.18 per cent of GDP.

“The deficit will be financed mainly by borrowing which is projected to be about N2.32 trillion.

“Our intention is to source N1.067 trillion or about 46 per cent of this borrowing from external sources while, N1.254 trillion will be borrowed from the domestic market.’’

Yusuf said that debts servicing was still very high as the country was spending 34 per cent of its revenue generated in servicing debts.

”The Federal Government should look for a way of reducing the money used in servicing debts so that more funds can be made available for capital projects, ” he said.

Yusuf, however, commended the Federal Government for allocating more funds for infrastructure development and restoring export expansion grant policy in the 2017 budget.

The LCCI director-general also said that there was a better coherence between the fiscal and monetary policy in the 2017 budget.

Also, Tunde Adeoye, a Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics, University of Lagos, lauded the Federal Government for allocating more funds to some key sectors of the economy like infrastructure development.

Adeoye urged the government to allocate more funds to the education sector in the subsequent budget to improve the standard of education.

According to him, the demand for education by people is higher, as the number of students seeking admission annually is more than the available spaces.

Adeoye advised the government to ensure full implementation of the 2017 budget.