Nigeria Has Not Approached Us for Debt Restructuring, Says World Bank President *Ahmed recants, says govt not seeking debt restructuring, but renegotiation to allow fiscal space *Emefiele upbeat about inflation easing *FG: Wit
*Emefiele upbeat about inflation easingThe President of the World Bank Group, Mr. David Malpass, yesterday disclosed that Nigeria was yet to approach the bank for debt restructuring.
The statement by Malpass, who was responding to a THISDAY’s question during a media briefing at the ongoing IMF/ World Bank annual meetings in Washington D.C, was contradiction with Wednesday’s statement by Ahmed that the country was seeking debt restructuring from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund .
“That would help the countries choose their path forward on debt restructuring and that would mean they would get a break on debt payments while they’re working out a restructuring agreement with the world. But Nigeria didn’t go, it hasn’t gone that route.” He said: “With regards to subsidies, to the extent that governments can have them be smaller meaning that if you’re putting a cap on gasoline prices, don’t make that a nominal cap in the local currency terms, but allow it to be reduced over time.
“Also, the trade policies tend to be protected on the import side and restrictive on the export side. So we would work with the IMF on an assessment of the debt sustainability of Nigeria, but then it would also be up to Nigeria itself to interact with the various creditors, which include bondholders and includes official creditors that are engaged, in Nigeria.”
“To improve on our revenue to debt service, you still need to be able to renegotiate and stretch out repayment implications. So, we are not restructuring our loans, but we are looking at options of how we can stretch out including buying back some of our bonds when we have the resources to do that.” “A triple blow that is particularly heavy for countries that are under a high level of debt. So zeroing in on this for low-income countries where over 60 per cent are at or near debt distress is paramount. And we need stronger efforts to confront food insecurity.
Speaking in an interview in Washington DC, the CBN governor who was reacting to the prediction by the IMF that Nigeria’s CPI would commence deceleration before the end of the year said: “I must say that even at these meetings, it is very clear that inflation risk is heavily elevated and for us in Nigeria, we believe that inflation at 20.
Also, in his reaction to the advice by the World Bank President for the CBN to unify exchange rates, he said: “At every point when we come into these meetings, they tell us to go back home and adopt home-grown policies. The situation got worse in September, with the nation barely able to produce half of its allocation and falling to a multi-decade low of 927,000 barrels per day, according to figures from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission .
He noted that the current global demand for cleaner fuels, decarbonisation as well as strategies to key into the decade of gas, among others, should be the preoccupation of the institute in the coming years. The SGF called on the private sector to take more than a passing interest in the institute because of the relevant role it plays in the energy sector.
Mustapha noted that the school has so far graduated over 50,000 students, many of whom were absorbed as employees in the sector and are now playing important roles in the industry. “The energy industry is changing because companies and consumers are changing their habits and their decisions. Owners of businesses, particularly in the energy sector are transitioning.