By Praise Chinecherem
Civil Rights Concern (CRC), an advocacy group has raised the alarm over increasing debt and increasing poverty rate in Anambra State and South East Region of Nigeria.
Speaking during a one-day seminar organized for Planning Officers and Civil Society Organizations in Awka, the Executive Director of CRC, Mr Okey Onyeka stressed the need to engage stakeholders towards finding lasting solution to the hydra headed issue of increasing debt profile and increasing poverty in the country in general and Southeast in particular.
He explained that the need to engage the stakeholders has become imperative because it is a paradox that poverty level will be increasing simultaneously with the debt profile.
The interaction with the planning officers according to him would help them to be careful in whatever they intend to put into the budget proposals.
According to Onyeka, it has become a common occurrence in the South East to have serious gap between Capital Expenditure and Recurrent Expenditure.
“We put this engagement together to open the eyes of the people to know what is happening in the South East states especially, poverty level has continued to grow yet debt profile is also increasing.
“The implication of the above is that the loans obtained by various governments in the zone are not effectively used to create wealth. If past and present administrations have been using borrowed monies for capital expenditure, poverty level would have reduced significantly.
“Ndi-Igbo don’t beg, government at all levels should do everything in their powers to prevent pushing them into unnecessary poverty and begging for survival,” he stressed.
Onyeka further explained that the issue of increasing debt profile and increasing poverty level will be checkmated if all the loans taken by the duty bearers are judiciously used.
He said that CRC will continue to sensitize the public through the media and positive engagement with critical stakeholders so as to ignite their interest in the issue of budgetary discipline of the government in power.
“We are working towards ensuring that government make public, information on the loans obtained on a website, so that individuals can go there and see things for themselves.
“Borrowed money should be used to build capacity and create wealth, not consumed. In doing this, the government should discuss with the people before going for any loan.
“For instance, Universal Basic Education (UBE) is working in Japan but in Nigeria, many children are still seeing roaming the streets during the school hours, this is not acceptable at all,” the CRC strongman insisted.
The ED of CRC also appealed to the South East governors to always endeavor to complete the uncompleted projects initiated by their predecessors and that all projects should be designed to benefit the masses and reduce poverty.
He applauded the Anambra State governor, Prof Gov Charles Soludo whose 2024 budget has 75 Percent Capital Expenditure and 25 Percent Recurrent Expenditure.
