VP Shettima Demands Concessions, Debt Forgiveness for Nigeria, others at 79th UNGA

Vice President Kashim Shettima has reiterated the urgent need for concessions and debt review for the development of Nigeria and other developing nations.

Shettima made this appeal at the United Nations General Assembly ongoing in New York, United States.

The Vice President noted that huge debt burdens currently facing countries in the global south impede their potential to develop and need to meet citizens’ increasing demands.

In a statement released by his media aide Stanley Nkwocha on Tuesday, Shettima urged the United Nations to deepen multilateralism, adding this is key to deepening inclusivity and cooperation among member states.

The statement reads, “Countries of the global south cannot make meaningful economic progress without special concessions and a review of their current debt burden. The recovery of proceeds of corruption and illicit financial flows is a fundamental principle of the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

“Therefore, the international community must promote practical measures to strengthen international cooperation to recover and return stolen assets and to eradicate safe havens that facilitate illicit flows of funds from developing countries to the developed economies.

“Today, these pillars of our organisation are threatened. They risk being broken by the relentless pursuit of individual national priorities rather than the collective needs of the nations that are assembled here today.

“While commitment to multilateralism offers us the surest guarantee of global action to address the existential challenges we face, singularity and nationalism are undermining the aspirations towards the peaceful and collective resolution of such challenges.

“From last year’s summit, and indeed from previous years, we have carried over the numerous challenges of terrorism, armed conflict, inequality, poverty, racial discrimination, human rights abuses, food crises, hunger, irregular migration, piracy, global pandemics, hyper-inflation, nuclear proliferation, grinding debt burden, climate change, and a host of other vexations.

“The continued manifestation of these challenges testifies to our failings rather than to any lofty achievements on our part. BilliN

Nigeria’s Debt Profile

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s public debt stock, which includes external and domestic debt, stood at N121. 67 trillion (US$91.46 billion) in Q1 2024 from N97. 34 trillion (US$ 108.23 billion) in Q4 2023, indicating a growth rate of 24.99% on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

This underscores the need for the country to review its borrowings amid the increasing call for frugality in governance.

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