President Bola Tinubu has pleaded with world leaders to prioritise debt forgiveness for Nigeria and other developing countries from creditors and multilateral financial institutions.
Tinubu, who is the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of States and Government of the Economic Community of West African States, made the appeal while addressing world leaders during the General Debate of the ongoing 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York, United States.
The Nigerian President, who was represented at the Summit by Vice President Kashim Shettima, said countries of the global South would not make meaningful economic progress without special concessions and a review of their current debt burden.
In a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, Tinubu drew the attention of the UN to the global debt burden undermining the ability of countries and governments to meet the needs of their citizens, trade barriers and protectionist policies destroying the hopes for nations, and the uncontrollable competition discouraging motivation and hampering global investments.
Speaking on the debt burden facing developing countries, Tinubu said:
“Similarly, we must ensure that any reform of the international financial system includes comprehensive debt relief measures, to enable 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,” he stated.
The President also asked the United Nations to commit to multilateralism by deepening relations among member states, in line with the principles of inclusivity, equality and cooperation.
He also called for the recovery of proceeds of corruption and illicit financial flows, stating that the return of such funds to countries of origin 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.”