President Muhammadu Buhari expressed his intention to close the infrastructure gaps in the country before he leaves office in 2023.
He added that the loans under his administration would be used to complete projects as an ongoing effort to reduce the widened infrastructure gap in Nigeria.
Represented by his Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, the president sent his remarks at the former president of Africa’s Business Roundtable, Dr Bamanga Tukur’s biography launching event in Abuja.
“Debt, if properly contracted and utilised effectively, is an important instrument in the economic blueprint of a government in its policy-making sphere,” said the professor.
“Our President is determined to execute these projects and ensure that before he departs office, under his watch, the infrastructure gap of Nigeria which was widened has been reduced considerably.”
Speaking about the book, Prof Gambari, a former special adviser to the United Nations on Africa, praised Dr Tukur’s role in the debt relief for many African countries. He criticised that previous debts were “not channelled into appropriate economic goods and services that directly lay the foundation upon which the economic growth will be experienced.”
“During the latter part of my engagement there, I recalled Bamanga Tukur’s activities with Tony Blair led Commission for Africa in 2004/2005 and how that led to the 2005 G8 Summit landmark decision on debt cancellation for 32 African countries. Prior to that, many poor African countries were using a large portion of their little resources to service debt obligations,” Prof Gambari said.
