Posted by By BEN OKEZIE on
The government of Benue State has congratulated President Olusegun Obasanjo and all Nigerians on the debt relief granted the country by the Paris Club.
The government of Benue State has congratulated President Olusegun Obasanjo and all Nigerians on the debt relief granted the country by the Paris Club.
Information commissioner of the state, Mr. Cletus Akiraya, while speaking with newsmen in Makurdi Thursday said the gesture is in line with the campaign for debt relief which the federal government is embarked upon.
While noting that the issue of debt has been a very serious problem to the economy of the country, Akiraya said that the money that otherwise should have gone into social welfare and provision of infrastructures was being pumped into debt servicing over the years.
He commended the efforts of the federal government for mounting international campaigns on debts relief prompting the G8 group of countries to grant 60 per cent relief of the debt.
He disclosed that 'as one of the 36 states of the federation, Benue State also has its own share of this external debt amounting to N120 million every month which it has been paying over the years."
Akiraya described the debt relief as a very important development in the national arena which affects virtually all Nigerians since both the federal government and all the states of the federation are indebted to these creditors.
'The government and people of Benue State led by his Excellency, Dr. George Akume, want to congratulate the federal government over this remarkable achievement of getting the advanced countries of the world to listen to the problems of Nigeria particularly the issues of debt relief," he said.
He urged the federal government to let the gesture improve the lives of Nigerians.