President Bola Tinubu has decried the futility of servicing Nigeria’s external debt profile with 90% of the country’s revenue base, saying it is a simple path to destruction and, hence, not sustainable.
His comments came in an apparent move to justify his ongoing economic reforms, declaring that Nigeria will not sustain a failed economic theory that leads to the wastage of 90% of its scarce revenue in the servicing of external debts in the midst of the many development challenges facing the country.
The President made the statement on Sunday in Abuja while declaring open the Annual Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association at the Velodrome, Chief MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja.
While energising the gathering of 16,190 lawyers in attendance with an extemporaneous speech, President Tinubu stated that the prosperity Nigerians require will only occur once poverty is banished from society with the focused cooperation of Nigeria’s private sector leaders, many of whom were present at the opening ceremony.
Can we continue to service external debts with 90% of our revenue? It is a path to destruction. It is not sustainable. We must make the very difficult changes that are necessary for our country to get up from slumber and be respected among the great nations of the world,” the President stated
Speaking on the theme of the conference, “Getting it Right: Charting the Course for Nigeria’s Nation-Building,” the President stated that hard decisions must be made to set the country on a growth trajectory, despite the initial pains that meaningful reforms usually bring.
We cannot have the country we desire without the reforms we have initiated. It is painful at the beginning, in the short and medium term, but we must do what we have to do to take this nation to its great destiny. It is not about you, and it is not about me. It is about our generations yet unborn, for whom we must bequeath a great and prosperous country,” he affirmed.
Against the backdrop of the renowned judicial reforms he undertook as Lagos State Governor, President Tinubu renewed his commitment to deal conclusively with the pressing issue of remuneration for judicial officers and legal practitioners, noting that true justice reform must begin with world-class salaries and benefits for legal professionals in Nigeria.
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