President Bola Tinubu has begged the United Nations General Assembly, UNGA, to forgive Nigeria debt its owing international monetary institutions.
Like the biblical ‘Lord’s Prayer which says ‘Forgive us our sin as we forgive others,’ President Tinubu through his Vice, Kashim Shettima begged for debt relief for Nigeria and other developing countries during the General Debate of the ongoing 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the UN headquarters in New York, United States.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the spokesperson of Vice-President Kashim Shettima, Stanley Nkwocha, told the congress that there is need for the international community to forgive Nigeria its debt stating that it will help to reposition the economy of the developing nations and provide solutions to the challenges they are facing.
“It is for this and other reasons that we reiterate the call by countries, especially of the global South, for reform of the international financial architecture and promotion of a rules-based, non-discriminatory, open, fair, inclusive, equitable and transparent multilateral trading system,” he noted.
The President said the debt burden on developing countries is undermining their growth and prevent government from meeting the needs of the citizens.
“Similarly, we must ensure that any reform of the international financial system includes comprehensive debt relief measures.
” This will ensure sustainable financing for development. Countries of the global South cannot make meaningful economic progress without special concessions and a review of their current debt burden.”
On proceeds of corruption from Africa stored in foreign countries, President Tinubu called for the recovery of such funds back to countries where they were stolen from, adding that repatriating such illicit funds “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,” he added
He urged world leaders to deepen relations among them in order to promote inclusivity, equality and cooperation.