Osinbajo at WEF: Wants debt relief for Nigeria, others

Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has urged multilateral organizations to consider the huge obligations placed on African countries and adopt debt relief initiatives such as the Debt Service Suspension Initiative and the Common Framework for Debt Treatments.

The Vice President, who made the call while delivering a special address at the virtual edition of the 2022 World Economic Forum (WEF) Friday, said this should be done in a manner that would not further constrain the resumption of growth to the continent.

While noting that there were giant strides recorded across Africa, he pointed out that challenges still remained to overcome, saying, therefore, that “we need partnerships that help to tackle climate change, address security concerns, promote economic prosperity, combat disease and improve governance.”

He urged the international community to support African countries to overcome fiscal challenges arising from their limited revenues.

According to him, “the creation of $650 billion in new Special Drawing Rights last year was a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done to enable African and other developing countries access the SDRs that are not needed or being used by developed or emerging economies.”

Prof. Osinbajo listed some of the progress on the African continent, including the recovery from the global pandemic, economic growth by 3.7% last year and a projected 3.8% growth in 2022.

He noted that there was now in place an African Continental Free Trade Area agreement to fast-track economic transformation just as the continent was making giant strides in agriculture, manufacturing and digital technology.

He further stated that in Nigeria for instance, six unicorns have emerged in the past six years.