A former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Kingsley Moghalu, has said the N30 trillion ways and means borrowings by the federal government have led to an unprecedented corruption scheme.
The ex-CBN official said this had caused many Nigerians to be left with hunger and hardship, forcing them to be angry with the country’s current hardship.
Moghalu, a 2019 general election presidential candidate disclosed this while delivering his keynote address at the annual Leadership Conference and Awards 2023, in Abuja, on Tuesday.
Recall that former President Muhammadu Buhari had borrowed N22.7 trillion in ways and means from the Central Bank which was subsequently followed by another N7 trillion borrowing by the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu
Moghalu said, “We should not be surprised that there is hunger and anger in the land because the past 10 years have been marked by many economic mismanagement, blotted ways and means of the CBN, blotted budget which has paved way for unprecedented corruption.”
He also proposed a nuanced approach to ensure the stability of foreign exchange, as he suggested the careful consideration of a $20 – 30 billion stabilisation package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He also called for the strategic sales of government assets to raise funds totalling $18 – 20 billion, which could be channelled into bolstering foreign reserves.