President Bola Tinubu has stated that the federal government has cleared Ways and Means debt of over N30 trillion.
The President stated that during the 64th Independence Day address to the Nation today.
According to the President, the country is gradually leaving the fiscal imbalances such as huge debt to GDP ratio, huge backlog of forex forwards owed to businesses etc.
The President noted that without the necessary reforms being executed by his administration, the economy would have collapsed.
He said, “The economy is undergoing the necessary reforms and to truly serve us better and more sustainably if we do not correct the fiscal misalignment that led to the current economic downturn, our country will face an uncertain future and the peril of unimaginable damage. Thanks to the reforms, our country attracted foreign direct investment of worth more than $30 billion in the last year.”
“The more disciplined approach adopted by the Central Bank to monetary policy management has ensured stability and predictability in our foreign exchange market. We inherited a reserve of over $33 billion 16 months ago. Since then, we have paid back the inherited forex backlog of $7 billion. We have cleared the ways and means debt of over N30 trillion. We have reduced the debt service ratio from 97 per cent to 68 per cent. Despite all these, we have managed to keep our foreign reserve at $37 billion. We continue to meet all our obligations and pay our bills.”
The President also highlighted the rising cost of living, especially food prices, as a major concern in Nigeria and globally. He reassured citizens that the government is taking steps to reduce these costs.
He praised certain state governors for supporting the agricultural program and urged others to invest in mechanized farming. He also announced that the Federal Government is supplying fertilizers and farm equipment, and a local plant for assembling 2,000 John Deere tractors and other farm tools has been approved, set for completion in six months.
What you should know
In May 2023, just before the Buhari administration concluded, the Senate approved the then-President’s request to restructure the N22.7 trillion loan the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had extended to the Federal Government through its Ways and Means provision.
- A further N7.3 trillion was securitised by the National Assembly to the Ways and Means debt as outstanding debt taking the total to N30 trillion.
- The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the economy, Wale Edun had earlier stated that the federal government has paid back up to N7 trillion in Ways and Means advances from the CBN and would not be resorting to the debt to meet its financial obligation in the future.