The Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (GCON) has advised all serving state governors to watch their debt profiles and keep control of their expenditures in order to deliver dividends of democracy to the people.

She made this statement on Monday in Abuja during the induction programme for re-elected and elected governors, organised by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum. While advising the state governors to be wary of incurring debts that could derail their quest for delivering democracy dividends to the citizenry, Okonjo Oweala tasked them on infrastructural developments.

She said: “Excellencies, please watch your debt profiles, and keep careful control of expenditures, even as you invest in infrastructure, education, and basic health systems. Please endeavour to pay teachers, health workers, and others their salaries, and retirees their pensions. The renowned economist added that “As you take office or return to your governorships, our 222 million compatriots will be counting on you to rise to the occasion.
The states are closest to the people: what you do- or don’t do – directly impacts people across the country.”

Okonjo-Iweala, while relying on World Bank estimates, noted that the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have pushed as many as 90 million more people into extreme poverty – most of them in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. She disclosed that in this gloomy and uncertain global context, Nigeria has to work much harder to avoid falling even further behind.

Her words, “Dear governors, I remain convinced that a better future is within our collective grasp. But to move ahead and seize it, we will need political and business leaders at the state and national levels to form a compact in pursuit of pro-growth and pro-development policies. She added, “We ought to be seeking to double our growth rate and sustain that higher growth until we attain upper middle-income status. We can also aim to double Nigeria’s share of world trade from 0.33 per cent to 0.66 percent within a decade,” she said, adding that “To build such a compact, we need trust.”

She also maintained that Nigeria is a country with no social contract, meaning that Nigerian political leaders have never been able to agree with each other to stick to a common set of principles, values, and policies that consistently deliver for their citizens regardless of ethnic group or political persuasion. She explained that the governors have a lot of healing to do – within their states, and between them, and through their words, deeds, and policies, they need to demonstrate to Nigerians that they are equally loved. That they can settle and do business in any part of the country without fear.

To whom much is given, they say, much is expected. As the swearing-in ceremony draws closer, with the elected governors fully charged and ready to hit the ground running, the expectations are high especially in terms of economic policies that seek to enhance debt reduction and infrastructural development.

Meiza Nigeria