Nigeria's debt hits $33bn as Buhari seeks UN for debt pardon

As Nigeria’s debt hits N33 Trillion, President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the United Nations to consider debt pardon or extension of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative especially for countries facing severe economic hardships due to the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He also pleaded with the UN to cancel the debt of countries facing a financial crisis, while addressing the 76th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York.

Buhari said, “On the issue of debt, we have seen that developing countries have been faced with unsustainable debt burdens even before the pandemic.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the risk of a new wave of deepening debt, where vital public financial resources are allocated to external debt servicing and repayments at the expense of domestic health and financing for critical developmental needs.

“I must commend the current initiatives by the international financial institutions and the G20 aimed at significantly mitigating the economic situation of the indebted countries and urge for more efforts in this regard.

“Therefore, there is an urgent need to consider expansion and extension of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative to include all Developing, Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States facing fiscal and liquidity challenges.

“In addition, a review of the eligibility criteria for debt suspension, including outright cancellation, is needed for countries facing the most severe challenges.”

It would be recalled that the Debt Management Office, Nigeria’s debt has disclosed that the country’s debt profile has now hit $33.1billion.

External debt according to official data is N12trillion or $32.85bn in foreign currency.

As Nigerians were beginning to come to terms with the reality, the President recently sent another letter to the National Assembly seeking more foreign loans of $4.054billion, €710million and $125million external loans.

In his speech, Buhari further assured the UN that the country is building a climate-friendly economy in line with the UN goal.

He said considering the impact of climate change on the globe, Africa’s biggest economy is working on a transition to a low carbon economy in line with achieving the Paris Climate Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.

“In these circumstances, we intend to build a climate-resilient economy that effectively aligns with the SDGs and that has great potential to unlock the full opportunities in different sectors of the economy while protecting the resources for present and future generations. I know, in several ways, this is also a familiar story in many countries,” he added.