'Almost impossible' - Obasanjo delivers prediction on Nigeria's debt profile as new record emerges

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has stated that given Nigeria's extensive debt portfolio, the country may find it difficult to secure debt relief.

According to a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, the former president, said this during a ceremony with the 2023 recipients of the Future Africa Leaders Foundation, an initiative of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome.

Paris Club Relief mismanaged

Obasanjo also said that successive administrations' alleged mismanagement of the debt relief from the Paris Club - secured under his administration - has caused the country to plunge into a vast and undeserved debt.

According to a Punch report, the country's record of mismanagement may prevent the next generation from enjoying debt relief.

He said: “With the mismanagement of the previous debts written off for the country, it will be almost impossible for any administration to get a similar gesture in the continent.”

This is as the Debt Management Office revealed that Nigeria's public debt was N87.91tn as of September 2023. Obasanjo cleared Nigeria's debt Obasanjo succeeded in getting Nigeria out of debt in 2003.

Nigeria and the Paris Club in October 2005 reached a final agreement for $18 billion in debt relief, which would reduce Nigeria's total debt stock by $30 billion.

On April 21, 2006, Nigeria made its last payment, and all Paris Club debt was removed from its books, concluding the arrangement. According to Obasanjo, debt is a trap no person or nation should fall into.

Stating that the continent's most significant issue was a lack of leadership, the former president added that the coming generations will have no choice but to pay the current debt incurred by different countries.