Nigeria Borrowing Money to Pay Government Workers

[OfTheCross]

Oil prices have only been down for a few months. I got no faith in these African governments.

Africa's richest economy is borrowing money to pay salaries as it struggles through a "difficult cash crunch" brought on by halved oil prices, Nigeria's finance minister revealed.

The news comes as Nigeria prepares to welcome a new government at the end of this month and the country's naira currency remains in a slump, hovering between 180 and 220 to the US dollar. It was trading at 160 a few months ago.

Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala tried to be upbeat in a speech on Tuesday after lawmakers approved the 2015 budget - revised three times because of slashed oil prices that provide 80 percent of revenue for the government of Africa's biggest petroleum producer.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/05/150506055148505.html

That being said, though, what they gon' do to diversify their portfolio? Seems like they living paycheck to paycheck right now

 

[Poitier]

Nigeria's issue is that the North needs development and its too Lagos-centric.

The oil was going to run out and borrowing money is a necessity. Kenya, for example, loves the low oil prices.