S&P reaffirms Nigeria’s rating at B+ with stable outlook

 

The rating agency Standard & Poors today delivered a resounding endorsement of the government of President Muhammad Buhari and its economic policies by affirming Nigeria’s rating at B+ with a stable outlook.

It had been feared that given the foreign exchange controls introduced by the Central bank and backed by the president that the rating agency will place Nigeria on a credit rating watch at best but in its report just published, S&P said its reaffirmation of Nigeria’s credit rating is because the country’s non-oil sectors will continue to support GDP expansion in Africa’s largest economy.

The agency said Nigeria’s rating is further supported by “relatively general government and external debt burdens, ample oil reserves and fairly robust growth in recent years.

The agency acknowledged that Buhari has ordered all government revenues be transferred to a single account held at the Central Bank in a bid to curtail corruption and enhance government revenues.