President Bola Tinubu has vowed to change Nigeria’s economic strategy, saying that the country cannot continue to service its external debts with 90% of its scarce revenue.
Bellnews reports that Tinubu made the declaration on Sunday, August 27, in Abuja, where he declared open the annual conference of the Nigerian Bar Association.
He said that the country’s current economic model is unsustainable and that Nigeria needs to make “very difficult changes” in order to achieve prosperity.
“Can we continue to service external debts with 90% of our revenue?” Tinubu asked. “It is a path to destruction. It is not sustainable. We must make the very difficult changes that are necessary for our country to get up from slumber and be respected among the great nations of the world.”
Tinubu said that Nigeria needs the focused cooperation of the private sector in order to achieve economic growth.
He said that many private sector leaders were in attendance at the NBA conference and that he was confident that they would work with his administration to create jobs and opportunities for Nigerians.
Tinubu’s comments come as Nigeria faces a number of economic challenges, including high unemployment, rising inflation, and a weak currency.