THE World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, has said that public spending in the country is among the lowest globally.
He said this while making his keynote address at the annual banking and finance conference in Abuja on Tuesday.
His presentation noted that “Nigeria’s government expenditures are the lowest globally.”
According to Chaudhuri, “Public spending by the Nigerian government, both the federal and subnational levels, have been very low.”
He added that government spending is insufficient to close the infrastructure gap.
His presentation document read, “At the current rate of capital spending, it would take 300 years to close Nigeria’s infrastructure gap.”
The World Bank leader for Nigeria also noted that public investment spending in Nigeria lags those in other countries like Indonesia, Ghana, Egypt, and Kenya, and this has led to poor quality of and access to infrastructure.
Chaudhuri also said that government revenues are one of the lowest in the world between 2015 and 2021, and low revenues are the key risk to fiscal and debt sustainability.
He further noted that access to finance is abysmally low, which further restricts the private sector’s ability to invest, grow, and generate jobs.
In his keynote address, Chaudhuri emphasised that for Nigeria to achieve steady growth and prosperity, both federal and state governments must take critical steps to ensure the country’s security, political stability, and the rule of law.
The bank also called on authorities to invest in human capital, particularly in children, unleash the potential of private investment, promote job creation, and ensure access to finance.
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