The Federal Government of Nigeria, despite its continued conversations regarding debt relief in international venues, has reaffirmed that it is not seeking debt forgiveness from China.
According to Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Tuggar, Beijing is willing to issue additional loans and invest in Nigeria’s economy.
Tuggar made the statement during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme, in response to concerns concerning Nigeria’s debt crisis and recent exchanges with China.
“No, that is not what we are discussing
with China. And when it comes to the issue of debt, look at the debt-to-GDP ratio of Nigeria, we are not even among the critically indebted nations.
“When you talk about the debt of a developing country, Nigeria is not in that sort of precarious situation. As a matter of fact, China is prepared to lend more, China is prepared to invest more in Nigeria in terms of infrastructure development and other things,” Tuggar said.
He emphasized that, while Nigeria has advocated for debt relief measures around the world, particularly at the United Nations General Assembly, China is willing to increase its financial obligations to Nigeria.
At the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Vice President Kashim Shettima, representing President Bola Tinubu, urged international leaders to prioritize debt forgiveness for Nigeria and other poor countries from creditors and multilateral financial organizations.
Despite these calls, Tuggar stated that debt forgiveness is a long process that has yet to be completed at recent UNGA sessions.
Tuggar said, “Under President Obasanjo, we benefited from debt forgiveness. It’s a process; it’s not just an event, it takes time but you have to be there, you have to be present, and then these things happen, they don’t happen overnight.
“The effect that we felt the last time we had debt forgiveness did not just happen with one UNGA.”
According to the Debt Management Office’s Q1 2024 report, Nigeria’s domestic and external debts totaled N121.67 trillion ($91.46 billion).
Written by Jennifer Amarachi
