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ABUJA – Nigeria has firmly ruled out any immediate recourse to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), maintaining the growing confidence in the country’s homegrown economic recovery strategy.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, made this position clear while addressing African Finance Ministers on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank Meetings in Washington.
Efe Ovuakporie, Head Information and Public Relations Unit, in a statement on Friday, said that Edun stated that Nigeria’s reform programme which has been sustained over the past two years has begun to yield tangible results, restoring credibility to economic management and strengthening the country’s ability to withstand mounting global headwinds.
He further underscored the government’s deliberate shift towards market-led policies, stressing that Nigeria has resisted the temptation of administrative controls, particularly in the areas of management of foreign exchange and petroleum pricing.
“The direction is clear,” the Minister indicated, “Nigeria is staying the course with internally driven reforms rather than turning to multilateral financing.”
He, however, cautioned that despite Nigeria’s improving outlook, that the broader African landscape remains fragile. He therefore called for accelerated and better-coordinated international financial support for vulnerable economies, as discussions intensify around a proposed $50 billion global assistance package.
