The World Bank has promised continuous support for governments at all levels in Nigeria to deliver on their mandate of providing good governance and services to the people.
The Country Director of the Bank, Shubham Chaudhuri, said this at the closing ceremony of the 3rd induction for elected governors in Nigeria in Abuja.
Chaudhuri also said that the bank looked forward to more bilateral collaboration that could be supported in various states.
“We provide a range of analytic and advisory services,” he said.
According to him, Nigeria had no reason not to be on positive trajectory in terms of GDP and Per Capita Income like Indonesia who shared certain similarities with the country including oil production, population and democracy.
Meanwhile, the Bauchi State Governor, North-east Nigeria, Bala Mohammed has called for a red flag on rising debt profile in the country.
According to the Mohammed Governor, Nigeria cannot continue to grow debt servicing requirements.
“I wonder what the World Bank is doing, “Apart from giving us grants, assistance States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability, and Sustainability (SFTAS) and of course loans they should be able to raise a red flag.
“They should be able to tell the managers of our economy that we cannot continue to borrow endlessly,” he said.
Governor Mohammed said that the rising debt profile of government had affected both the Nigerian and state governments, hence the need for country to correct its perception about debt and for states to look inward for resources.
He said; “Our debt servicing requirement is about 95% of the revenue. So the states are affected by this macro economic reality.
“The oil proceeds are not been shared. And we are here celebrating success, what success?
“We are going to go under, unless we do something inward to really correct our own perception, our own notions and our own approaches to the management of the economy of the country.”
Also on the sideline of the event, the Plateau State Governor-elect, Mr Caleb Mutfwang, said Nigeria did not need World Bank to serve it warning before knowing that its debt profile had gotten to an alarming point.
He called for more collaboration with the Nigerian government as members of the national economic council to come up with the right polices that would to revise the country’s debt situation.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
