Finance Minister assures manageable debt situation, says no need for restructuring

By Sodiq Adelakun

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has stated that Nigeria’s debt situation is manageable and does not necessitate restructuring.

Speaking at the World Bank/IMF annual meetings in Marrakech, Morocco, Mr. Edun acknowledged that the country’s debt service revenue is high but emphasised the need to enhance both oil and non-oil revenue to address this issue.

“Also, we have spent time meeting oil producers and encouraging them to invest further in production so as to boost revenue as oil prices are relatively high.

“President Bola Tinubu has also inaugurated a fiscal policy and tax reforms committee that is already working on improving revenue generation.

“The committee has a target of moving the country from under 10 per cent tax to GDP to 18 per cent within a year. That is also a way of dealing with debt servicing,” he said.

According to the Minister, the more revenue a country has, the more affordable debt servicing will be.

“The world we are in now is a world of high-interest rates. Debt is becoming unaffordable,” he said.

He said that with the courageous steps that the Nigerian government under Tinubu had taken, the country was at the forefront of attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) that would further boost revenue generation.

“There is more to be done, but Nigeria is on the right path, taking the right decisions for the economy to recover and attract FDIs, and also achieve inclusivity of women and youths.

“These are painful reforms, but there is a set of interventions being rolled out to cushion their effects and improve the well-being of Nigerians,” Mr Edun said.