I Can Grow Nigeria’s Economy With Debt, Deficit Budget – Tinubu Speaks At Economic Summit

Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu, on Friday argued that there’s nothing wrong with budget deficit being experienced in the administration of Muhammadu Buhari.

The APC candidate said he possessed all the leadership qualities to grow the country out of its debt, saying debt with its associated budget deficit is a common phenomenon especially in modern economic management.

Speaking in Lagos before a large crowd of organised private sector under the aegis of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, the former Lagos State Governor said the underlying challenge to the country’s growth is insecurity far from being a budget deficit.

He stressed that a complimentary economic role between the government and the private sector is fundamental to a sound and buoyant economy.

“First, to achieve the economy we seek, we must resolve the pressing security issues. No nation can flourish with terrorists and kidnappers in their midst,” Tinubu said at a time of gorwing fears of looming hunger due to activities of kidnappers, bandits and other security challenges in the country.

There have been reports of poor harvest due to cases of insecurity. Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa known for high yam harvests have all reported poor harvest.

The north eastern states of Adamawa, Yobe and others have also reported low grain harvest.

Tinubu however pointed out that the core approach to grow the country’s economy is to end insecurity, which he said has hampered economic growth.

On a working relationship between the government and the private sector, Tinubu stressed that, “My core belief is that the private sector must be the prime driver of economic progress.

“However, the government establishes the framework within which the private sector must operate. If that framework is sound, the private sector will flourish.

“If the framework is frail or incomplete, then the private sector will struggle.”

He added that his administration would immediately after getting to office, urgently address fiscal, monetary, and trade reforms to effectively increase domestic production, thus serving to curb imported inflation, and to ensure better macro-economic stability by accelerating inclusive growth and job creation across Nigeria.

He argued that, “I do not hold to the mainstream view that all forms of inflation are best tackled by interest rate hikes and shrinking the economy.

“Supply induced inflation does not lend itself to this harsh medicine, just as one does not cure a headache by plucking out one’s eye,” he justified in his speech.”

He further argued that, “I do not embrace the conventional wisdom that fiscal deficits by the national government are inherently bad.

“All governments, especially in this era of fiat currency, run secular budget deficits. This is an inherent part of modern governance,” the APC said.

He opined that the most powerful and wealthiest governments run deficits, as do the poorest nations.

“A budget deficit is not necessarily bad. Look at the Japanese example with high government borrowing and low inflation.

“The real issue is whether deficit spending is productive or not. Unproductive deficit spending is a compound negative especially if backed by excessive borrowing of foreign currency.

“This is not classroom economics but it is the lesson of the real economic history of nations,” Tinubu said.