Rename Ministry Of Finance To Foreign Loans And Debts Accumulation, HURIWA Tells Buhari

Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of
Nigeria, has urged the President Muhammadu Buhari, to rename the
Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning to the
Federal Ministry for Foreign Loans and Debts Accumulation.

National Coordinator of HURIWA, Emmanuel Onwubiko, and the
group’s Media Affairs Director, Zainab Yusuf, made this known in a
statement titled ‘Rename Finance Minister To Minister Of Foreign
Loans Collection:- HURIWA Tells President Buhari’.

The group was reacting to the recently approved request by the
Senate for the President to borrow N2,343,387,942,848, to
part-finance the 2021 federal budget size of N13trn.

HURIWA said, “We honestly think that the President should table
before his weak Federal Executive Council the proposal for a change
of name of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National
Planning to the Federal Ministry for Foreign Loans and Debts
Accumulation.

“This is because Nigerians have come to see that the Minister of
Finance Zainab Ahmed does nothing else than inundating Nigerians
with the bad news of the constant requests from all kinds of places
around the world for external Loans which are actually not been
utilised to grow the economy or advance the living conditions of
Nigerians but these huge loans are used to service the ballooning
costs of running government and paying juicy allowances to Federal
government officials.”

The rights group lampooned the National Assembly led by Senate
President, Ahmad Lawan; as well as House of Representatives
Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila; for endorsing the foreign loan requests
of the President who is the leader of their party – the All
Progressives Congress.

HURIWA also lamented that whereas most nations of the world are
concentrating their economic and national planning efforts towards
boosting the productivity of their citizens through
industralisation and maintenance of public works and social
infrastructures, “the federal and state governments in Nigeria are
in the bonanza of collecting foreign credit facilities and loans so
as to finance the ostentatious political lifestyles of the
politicians in the corridors of power”.

“This to is is the new kind of enslavement which must be
resisted. Whereas these government officials collect loans and
fritter to find their expensive lifestyles, millions of Nigerians
have become impoverished over time.

“Infact only two years back, Nigeria became the home to over 90
million absolutely poor citizens and the poverty capital of the
World even whilst the nation is still very rich in terms of mineral
and crude oil resources whose revenues are looted heartlessly by
officials,” the statement added.

Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of
Nigeria, has urged the President Muhammadu Buhari, to rename the
Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning to the
Federal Ministry for Foreign Loans and Debts Accumulation.

National Coordinator of HURIWA, Emmanuel Onwubiko, and the
group’s Media Affairs Director, Zainab Yusuf, made this known in a
statement titled ‘Rename Finance Minister To Minister Of Foreign
Loans Collection:- HURIWA Tells President Buhari’.

The group was reacting to the recently approved request by the
Senate for the President to borrow N2,343,387,942,848, to
part-finance the 2021 federal budget size of N13trn.

HURIWA said, “We honestly think that the President should table
before his weak Federal Executive Council the proposal for a change
of name of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National
Planning to the Federal Ministry for Foreign Loans and Debts
Accumulation.

“This is because Nigerians have come to see that the Minister of
Finance Zainab Ahmed does nothing else than inundating Nigerians
with the bad news of the constant requests from all kinds of places
around the world for external Loans which are actually not been
utilised to grow the economy or advance the living conditions of
Nigerians but these huge loans are used to service the ballooning
costs of running government and paying juicy allowances to Federal
government officials.”

The rights group lampooned the National Assembly led by Senate
President, Ahmad Lawan; as well as House of Representatives
Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila; for endorsing the foreign loan requests
of the President who is the leader of their party – the All
Progressives Congress.

HURIWA also lamented that whereas most nations of the world are
concentrating their economic and national planning efforts towards
boosting the productivity of their citizens through
industralisation and maintenance of public works and social
infrastructures, “the federal and state governments in Nigeria are
in the bonanza of collecting foreign credit facilities and loans so
as to finance the ostentatious political lifestyles of the
politicians in the corridors of power”.

“This to is is the new kind of enslavement which must be
resisted. Whereas these government officials collect loans and
fritter to find their expensive lifestyles, millions of Nigerians
have become impoverished over time.

“Infact only two years back, Nigeria became the home to over 90
million absolutely poor citizens and the poverty capital of the
World even whilst the nation is still very rich in terms of mineral
and crude oil resources whose revenues are looted heartlessly by
officials,” the statement added.