The Vice-President Governance and Knowledge Management, African Development Bank, AfDB, Kevin Urama, has called for calm over Nigeria’s debt status, saying that the debt to GDP ratio is still sustainable. Speaking on Thursday at a virtual pre-media conference to herald the 2024 AfDB Annual Meetings, he re emphasised that debt for growth should not carry any negative connotation.

According to him, “the debt to GDP ratio in Nigeria is still sustainable, but the issue in Nigeria is with regards to debt to revenue ratio.” Commending President Bola Tinubu for his various efforts geared towards revenue mobilisation improvement in the country, he said that by increasing the revenue mobilisation, the country would be able to rebalance that ratio and move forward. “The point I need to make clearly is that debt is not a bad thing.

Debt for growth is always the means for driving transformative growth in countries. “The issue is not about the debt. It is about the quality of the debt. In terms of what you borrow, on what terms, how transparent they are, and what you use the resources borrowed to do “If it is invested in growth enhancing infrastructure and productive infrastructure, you are going to be able to generate revenue to be able to repay the loans and still also grow your economy,” he said. According to Urama, debt should not ordinarily carry negative connotations, only bad should debt causes such.

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