Nigeria Not to borrow from W/Bank, IMF to manage fiscal shocks

 

Nigeria’s Minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala says the Federal Govetnnment will not borrow more from the World Bank and the IMF for managing fiscal shocks and vulnerabilities arising from declining crude oil price at the international market.

Speaking against the backdrop of threats posed on project implementation by declining crude oil prices at rap-up session for Nigeria at the just concluded annual meetings of the IMF/ World Bank in Washington DC, Okonjo-Iweala said that the government was considering a number of other options that did not include borrowing from the IMF and the World Bank.

According to local media reports, the minister’s response came against the backdrop of anxiety in some quarters that Nigeria’s rising external debt profile and declining revenues may cripple the business of governance.

The World Bank and the IMF have advised governments of developing and frontier economies to adopt contingency plans to manage downside effects of expected revenue shortfalls.