Nigerians will be trekking from Lagos to Ibadan if we didn’t borrow Chinese loans – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has defended his governments several borrowings from China, stating that Nigerians may have to walk from Lagos to Ibadan if the loans were not taken.

He spoke on Wednesday during an exclusive interview on Channels TV, saying that it was impossible for his administration to reject Chinese loans without alternative sources of funds.

Buhari said; “We got the Chinese to help us in the rail and the roads. How can we turn that down? If we had turned that down, maybe between Lagos to Ibadan, you will have to walk”.

According to the Nigerian Domestic and Foreign Debt Report published last year by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the country’s total public debt as of September 2020 was estimated at N32.2 trillion ($84.57 billion).

Despite the criticisms on the borrowings, the president reiterated that his government would continue to borrow.

“We take that (loans) where it is necessary. I told you now of something, what it is used to be between Lagos and Ibadan alone not to talk of the rest of the country,” he added.