Atiku blames Buhari for ‘significant’ downgrade in Nigeria’s credit rating

From Abubakar Yunusa Abuja

Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration “lacks the critical competencies” to initiate and implement innovative solutions to Nigeria’s problems.

Over the weekend, Moody’s had downgraded Nigeria’s credit rating from B3 to Caa1, saying the government’s fiscal and debt position was expected to continue to deteriorate.

Abubakar, reacting to Moody’s rating in a statement on Monday, said the downgrade was “very significant”.

He said the Buhari-led administration is to be blamed for the downgrade.

“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; it also notes 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,” he said.