The minister for Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, has expressed fear on the impending inability of the federal government to fund 2023 capital projects as the country is broke according to him.

Briefing journalists while marking the World Day against Child Labour in Abuja on Thursday, warned that the lack of funds would affect employment and increase poverty rate in Nigeria.

 “I can tell you that Nigeria is broke. There is no money to fund capital projects next year. As you can see, the dollar that has been hovering around N500 and N600 is now above N700. The truth is that there is no money anywhere. The money that the FAAC (Federation Account Allocation Committee) has been sharing is money from taxes, customs and other revenue-generating agencies.

“The National Nigerian Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) no longer remits money to FAAC. So, the situation calls for patriotism from all Nigerians. The lack of money to fund capital projects would have implication on capacity to create jobs. If jobs are not created, poverty will increase in the country.”