By Joy Baba-Yesufu
With the worrisome growing debt profile across African countries and Nigeria in particular, expert have called for debt relief for countries facing high debt risk to allow them respond to other development crisis.
It was also said that high fiscal deficits in many African countries have made it difficult to build resilience and tackle the multiple shocks ,( COVID-19,pandemic, natural disaster, insecurity occasioned by terrorism and banditry) eight African countries were in debt distress and thirteen at high risk of debt distress.
Executive Director, African Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) Rev David Ugolor stated this in Abuja at the opening ceremony of a 2-day conference on Debt and Development” with the theme; “Repositioning Nigeria for a debt free Africa”.
Ugolor said the conference is in furtherance to the implementation of “Increasing African voices to shape Special Drawing Rights agenda” project being implemented by AFRODAD.
He further said the Nigerian’s ballooning debt burdens remains one of the major challenges the new government is facing adding that the Debt Management Office of Nigeria recently disclosed that Nigeria total public debt hit N87.38 trillion at the end of second quarter of 2023.
The figure according to him represents 75. 29 percent compared to N49.85 trillion recorded at the end of March this year. “ This is quite disturbing because most of Nigeria revenue is now being channelled to debt servicing obligations”.
He said “ this becomes even more worrisome when viewed against the backdrop that Nigeria remains the the world poverty capital as designated by the World Poverty Clock report 2023. It means debt will drive more Nigerians into extreme and multidimensional poverty if urgent and drastic steps are not taken by both the Nigerian Government and the international community.
“Much more, owing to the significant debt burden, Nigeria lacks the fiscal capability to fulfil it’s commitments to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and contribute to the attainment of the climate goals of the Paris Agreement. Instead of making accelerated progress, the country like many other African countries, is regressing during what the United Nations has termed a “Decade of Action”.
Head of Policy Strategy and Risk Management Department of the Debt Management Office, Sani Abubakar maintained that what Nigeria needs at the moment is to increase her revenue generation adding that Nigeria’s current public debt remains sustainable.
Also speaking at the conference, Lead Director, Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Eze Onyekpere, said the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) states that debts should only be incurred for capital projects and human development programmes but Nigeria government borrows to pay salaries.
He said Nigeria debt is not sustainable as claimed by the representative of DMO noting that the country is using100 per cent of its revenue to service debt. “our leaders have been going on a borrowing spree”
“I will not be part of those campaigning for debt relief because we have been talking and they are not listening. Now, they want us to be asking for debt relief. We are stealing from our revenue and still stealing from money borrowed; if we keep stealing from the treasury, we won’t make progress”.
