A two-day workshop on Nigeria’s debt, development and climate challenges organised by Heinrich Boll Foundation Abuja Office, will begin tomorrow in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. The conference is being organised in collaboration with the African Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), the Centre for the Study of Economies in Africa (CSEA), the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Good Governance Team and the Centre for Climate Change and Development (CCCD).
During the conference, stakeholders will address issues such as unpacking Nigeria’s debt situation in the context of the deepening debt crisis on the African continent; presenting reform proposals and processes at national and international levels that offer possible solutions to the debt crisis, as well as discuss ways in which Nigerian civil society organisations and the new government could further engage on the rising debt obligations in the country.
“Although the economy has grown modestly at just over 3% per annum since then, price shocks caused by the war in Ukraine, historic floods, and government policy decisions have exacerbated chronic inflationary pressures. As a result, an additional 5 million people have fallen into poverty in 2022, increasing the total to approximately 95 million Nigerians.
“The medium to long-term economic outlook for Nigeria is also concerning. Despite the surge in global energy prices, including of oil, Nigeria has been unable to increase its revenue due to high subsidies paid for domestic petrol consumption (now removed) and its inability to increase oil production.
“The investment required for Nigeria’s development and climate commitments appears more daunting than ever before. The estimated financing gap for Nigeria to achieve the SDGs by 2030 is 125 trillion Naira, while the estimated cost of implementing the country’s Nationally Determined Contribution is 74 trillion Naira, which would lower Nigeria’s emissions by up to 47% by 2030,” Donald Ikenna Ofoegbu, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Nigeria, Heinrich Böll Stiftung Nigeria, said through a statement on behalf of the organisers.
Nigeria’s external debt stood at $42.67 billion based on the data released by the Debt Management Office(DMO) as of 31 March 2023. However, due to the recent floating of the national currency, the naira, which depreciated from N463/$ to N772.8/$ at the I & E Window, Nigeria’s total external debt obligations in naira terms rose from N19.76 trillion to N32.98 trillion, gaining an extra N13.22 trillion in less than a month, thus, making the country’s debt stock a topical issue in recent weeks.
According to the schedule of the programme, Jochen Luckscheiter, Director, Heinrich Böll Foundation will give the welcome address while His Royal Highness, Dr Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, and former governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, will give the keynote address.
Further, Mma Amara Ekeruche, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (CSEA), and Chinedu Bassey, Programme Manager, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) will be the discussants on “State of Play: Nigeria’s Debt Governance Structure, External Debt Situation and Outlook.”
David Ugolor, Executive Director, African Network for Environmental and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) will speak on “The Multilateral Financial Architecture: Status-Quo and Existing Initiatives.”
Jason Braganza, Executive Director, African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD) will share his views on “Nigeria in Context: Deepening Debt Crisis in the Global South and New Initiatives.”
On “The Debt-Development-Climate Nexus”, this will be an issue to be addressed between Ulrich Volz, Director, Centre for Sustainable Finance at SOAS, University of London, and Sadiq Okoh, Research Fellow, Centre for Climate Change and Development.
There will be a presentation and discussion of the draft conference communique at the end of the two-day event.
