The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Am. Yusuf Tuggar, said on Sunday Nigeria would not push for debt forgiveness from China, its biggest lender.

Tuggar, who featured in Channels Television’s programme, Sunday Politics, however, said the Federal Government would be willing to take fresh loans from the Asian powerhouse.

This, according to him, was based on the country’s low debt-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio which has placed it among the less indebted nations of the world and the willingness of Beijing to borrow Nigeria more money and invest more in the economy.

Naomisophyblog reports that China is Nigeria’s largest creditor. Nigeria’s bilateral debt obligations as at March 31 to the Asian nation stands at $5.045 billion, according to current data released by the Nigerian Debt Management Office (DMO).

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Asked whether Nigeria is in talks with Beijing for debt relief after President Bola Tinubu meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping recently, the minister said that was not the case.

Tuggar said: “No, that is not what we are discussing with China. And when it comes to the issue of debt, look at the debt-to-GDP ratio of Nigeria, we are not even among the critically indebted nations.

“When you talk about the debt of a developing country, Nigeria is not in that sort of precarious situation. As a matter of fact, China is prepared to lend more, China is prepared to invest more in Nigeria in terms of infrastructure development and other things.”

President Tinubu had in his address to world leaders during the General Debate of the just concluded 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, United States canvassed comprehensive debt forgiveness from creditors and multilateral financial institutions for Nigeria and other developing countries.

By: Babajide Okeowo

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