By Bimpe Fashakin
Vice-President Kashim Shettima says public debt can drive growth and reduce poverty with prudent management.
Vice President Shettima stated this while inaugurating the Supervisory Board of the Debt Management Office (DMO), in Abuja.
He explained that the inauguration was part of efforts by the Federal Government to strengthen fiscal and monetary policy co-ordination and ensure long-term debt sustainability in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The Vice President who is also Chairman of the Board noted that Nigeria must continue to use public debt as a vehicle for the development of critical infrastructure and tool for economic growth and poverty reduction.
“With prudent management, debt can be transformed into an asset for economic growth and poverty reduction. Our goal must be to formulate policies, regulations, and guidelines for the DMO, with a view to achieving long-term debt sustainability for our country,” the VP stated.
Shettima stressed that borrowing, when applied prudently, could serve as a catalyst for economic growth rather than a financial liability.
“As you all know, public debt, if prudently applied, becomes an asset for economic growth and poverty reduction.
However, recent realities in our economy call for stronger coordination between our fiscal and monetary policies,” he said.
The Vice President also acknowledged Nigeria’s recent success in the global financial market on the issuance of a $2.2 billion double-tranche Eurobond, which he described as a testament to investor confidence in the country.
Members of the Board are the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun – Vice Chairman; the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Dr. Tope Fasua; the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso; the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), Dr. Oluwatoyin Sakirat Madein, and the Director-General of the Debt Management Office, Patience Oniha – Secretary.
