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| Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, Minister of Finance |
Despite
the biting economic hardship facing the country, the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, has said that Nigeria has
no need to apply for an International Monetary Fund programme as it is pursuing
its own economic reform plan.
Adeosun
told CNBC in an interview that
Nigeria wants to take responsibility for her economic future. “For us the IMF is
really a lender of last resort when you have balance of payments problem.
Nigeria doesn't have balance of payments problems per se, it has a fiscal
problem. We are already doing as much reform as any IMF programme would impose
on Nigeria. Nigerians want to take responsibility for their future. We must
have our home-grown, home-designed programme of reform,” she said.
Adeosun
said non-oil revenues were improving while the government was fine-tuning an
economic reform plan needed to support an application for a loan of at least $1
billion from the World Bank. It is also seeking further funds from the African
Development Bank.
“Non-oil
revenue is improving very steadily. All the measures we have put in place are
beginning to yield fruits," she said, without giving numbers. “Oil production is back
up, we are very grateful for that, but we should be careful for getting excited
about that."
Reuters
reported that diplomats and officials told it that Nigeria, Africa's leading
crude producer, which relies on oil revenues for most of its income, plans to
finalise its proposal to the World Bank this month. The country needs to plug a
gap in its record 7.3 trillion naira ($23.17 billion) 2017 budget, which
contains a number of measures aimed at stimulating the economy. (Reuters)
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