KEY POINTS
• Nigeria says heavy debt servicing is diverting scarce resources from education, healthcare and infrastructure in developing countries.
• Government calls for wider access to concessional financing and more sustainable debt arrangements.
• Nigeria links financial reform to climate action, industrialisation, energy access and technology.
• Shettima says developing countries should not have to choose between development and climate action.
MAIN STORY
Nigeria has called for urgent changes to the global financial system, saying the cost of servicing debt is leaving developing countries with fewer resources for essential development needs.
Vice President Kashim Shettima made the call on Thursday while delivering President Bola Tinubu’s national statement at the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
Shettima identified inadequate development financing as a major constraint on developing economies and called for broader access to concessional financing alongside debt arrangements that take into account the development needs of poorer countries.
He said reform of the international financial architecture was closely connected to issues including climate action, industrialisation, energy access and technological development.
On climate change, Shettima rejected the idea that developing countries should have to sacrifice economic development in order to reduce emissions. He said poorer countries needed room to industrialise, reduce poverty and expand energy access while pursuing lower carbon development.
He said achieving that balance would require adequate climate finance and technology transfer from countries with greater financial resources and technological capacity.
Shettima noted that Africa accounts for less than four per cent of global emissions but faces significant exposure to the effects of climate change. UN assessments similarly place the continent’s contribution below four per cent while highlighting its exposure to floods, droughts, extreme temperatures and other climate related impacts.
He reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to the Paris Agreement and to a transition that reflects both environmental responsibilities and the country’s economic and energy realities.
Technology also featured prominently in Nigeria’s development position, with Shettima saying the country would not allow concerns about emerging technologies to determine its technological future.
He described artificial intelligence as a tool whose effects would depend on the choices and policies surrounding its development and use.
According to him, Nigeria is expanding digital public infrastructure, increasing broadband deployment and supporting technology entrepreneurship as it seeks to benefit from emerging technologies.
Shettima said Nigeria’s call for changes to global institutions was being pursued alongside economic reforms at home. He identified disciplined macroeconomic management, stronger institutions, private sector growth and strategic public investment as key elements of the country’s development approach.
He maintained that the effectiveness of government policies would ultimately be judged by whether they improve citizens’ lives.
Nigeria therefore called for international financing arrangements that provide developing countries with sufficient fiscal space to invest in people and productive infrastructure.
The position forms part of Nigeria’s wider agenda at UNGA81, which includes reform of the United Nations, international peace and security, climate action, development financing and emerging technologies.
Shettima also linked economic prosperity with global security, warning that inequality and underdevelopment could contribute to instability.
He called for an international system that can accommodate technological progress, sustainable development and greater economic inclusion, while reaffirming Nigeria’s commitment to multilateral cooperation on peace, development and human rights.
THE ISSUES
- High debt servicing costs can reduce the resources available to developing countries for spending on areas such as education, healthcare and infrastructure, which Nigeria says makes reform of international financing arrangements urgent.
- Access to concessional financing is a central part of Nigeria’s position, with the government seeking financing terms that better reflect the development needs and fiscal constraints of poorer countries.
- Nigeria is also linking development finance to climate action. Its position is that developing countries need financial resources and technology transfer to expand energy access and industrialise while pursuing lower carbon development.
- Africa’s low contribution to global emissions does not shield the continent from climate impacts. Nigeria therefore wants climate financing arrangements that take the continent’s exposure and development needs into account.
- Technology is another part of the development equation, with Nigeria seeking to expand digital infrastructure, broadband and technology entrepreneurship while shaping policies around artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.
WHAT’S NEXT
Nigeria is expected to continue pressing for changes to international financing arrangements as part of its broader engagement on development, climate action and reform of global institutions.
At home, the government says it will pursue macroeconomic reforms, institutional strengthening, private sector growth and public investment alongside its international agenda.
BOTTOM LINE
Nigeria says high debt servicing costs are limiting developing countries’ ability to finance essential development. It is calling for a global financial system that gives poorer economies greater fiscal space to invest in people, infrastructure, climate action and productive capacity.
