The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has expressed disapproval of the recent downgrade of Nigeria’s credit rating by Moody’s Investors Service.
With the global credit agency downgrading the country’s foreign debt for the second time in just over three months, the credit rating which was released on Friday marks the lowest Nigeria has received since 2006.
Atiku, in a series of tweets on Monday, said Moody’s took account of the government’s inability to curtail its addiction to deficit financing and its appetite for more funds from the Central Bank’s Ways and Means.
“Late last week, Moody’s Investors Service (The Moody’s) sadly, but not unexpectedly, downgraded the Nigerian Government’s Credit Rating from B3 to Caa1. This is a very significant downgrade,” he wrote.
“Moody’s notes the FGN’s deteriorating fiscal and debt position and its lack of capacity to respond to same; it notes the ‘exacerbating policy trading-off’ between debt servicing and the financing of critical sectors, including education, health, and other social programmes.”
