According to Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, the country’s debt condition is manageable and does not call for restructuring. He explained that debts are becoming unaffordable. Mr. Edun made this statement on Saturday in Marrakech, Morocco, on the eve of the ongoing annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The minister acknowledged that the nation’s earnings for debt servicing were on the high side. He claimed that increasing oil and non-oil revenue was the solution. The minister stated that a nation’s ability to service its debt would increase with its level of revenue.
He asserted that due to the bold actions taken by the Nigerian government under Tinubu, the nation was at the forefront of luring foreign direct investment (FDI), which would help increase revenue creation. He explained, “Also, we have spent time meeting oil producers and encouraging them to invest further in production to boost revenue, especially considering the relatively high oil prices”.
Bola Tinubu has also inaugurated a fiscal policy and tax reform committee that is already working on improving revenue generation. The committee has a target of increasing the country’s tax-to-GDP ratio from under 10 percent to 18 percent within a year. That is also a way of dealing with debt servicing.
“We are now in a world of high interest rates. Debt is becoming unaffordable. There is more to be done, but Nigeria is on the right path, making the right decisions for the economy to recover, attract FDIs, and also achieve inclusivity for women and youth”. Mr. Edun concluded. “These are painful reforms, but a set of interventions is being rolled out to cushion their effects and improve the well-being of Nigerians”.