Dr. Gbenga Olowo, President, Aviation safety Round Table Initiative (ART)
As Federal government continue to pile up public debts, in the face of galloping interest, inflation rates and battered exchange rates, to address infrastructure gaps in the aviation industry and indeed in other sectors of the economy, experts in the aviation industry in Nigeria will gather today to address the prospect and challenges of using private funding to address the gap.
Speaking on the Zoom conference organised by Aviation Round Table (ART) at its third quarter breakfast meeting, President of ART, Dr Gbenga Olowo hinted that despite repeated discussions on the need to use private sector funds to address infrastructure gap even as the economy suffers badly it seems government is not shifting is its funding pattern.
He added that with all the machinery put in place by government to facilitate private sector participation in the funding of infrastructure gap in the economy, the nation’s public debts has risen from $46.2 billion in 2006 to $87.24 billions as at end of first quarter of this year.
“With galloping interest rate, inflation and battered exchange rates sending Nigeria into debt trap because of continuous borrowing for infrastructure. Nigeria’s public debts which stood at $46.2billions in 2006 is $87.24billions as at March this year. It means that with this level of indebtedness Nigeria is not shifting,” he said.
The ART president said the panel of experts would look critically into all the challenges in their discussions and come out with viable solutions on how to address the issue.
