[VIDEO] Taking $12b To Pay Off Nigeria Debts Was Wrong – Fashola Justfies Buhari Borrowing Spree

Former Lagos State Governor and the current Nigeria Minister of Works and Housing, Babatude Fashola has blamed the previous administration before the regime of President Muhammadu Buhari for taking over 12 billion naira cash to settle or pay off debts he said could have been used to finance decaying infrastructure in the country.

Fashola made the blame on Sunday during interactive interview section with Channels Television Politics Today programme.

Fashola said the wrong notion that “we can’t take debt. Made the previous administration to take 12 billion dollar cash to settle, pay off debts that could have been renegotiated, restructured and used to finance decaying infrastructure in the country”.

Fashola said, there is nothing wrong about borrowing, as far as, the country can service the debts.

Fashola said the Sukuk loan which is being used to fund road projects across the country is an Islamic loan which makes interest on loan, an haram, or forbidden.

Fashola went further to give more wider clarification on the Islamic loan, which he said, the Islamic loan collects or charges interest on the assets, the loan funded or bought, but, it is not like the conventional bank that charges interest on the loan facility itself.

He further explained that the Islamic loan provider will continue to collect interest on the assets or toll fee on some of the roads funded by the Sukuk loan until the country pays back the loan.

Fashola said Nigeria as a country is not broke, arguing that, as far as, the country is able to service its debts obligations, the country is not broke.

He said his job as Minister of Works and Housing is to spend the money and he can say, during the interview programme, that, he’s not the Minister of Finance.