The International Monetary Fund
(IMF) says Nigerians are getting poorer and that “coherent and comprehensive”
economic reforms are urgently needed in the country.
The gross domestic product report
released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday showed that the
economy recorded a growth of 0.83 percent in 2017.
The Bretton Wood institution said
it expects the government to “muddle through” in the medium term, and any
progress could also be threatened if elections next year consume political
energy and resources.
Reuters reports that the IMF said
that although the outlook for growth has improved, the climate still remained
challenging.
“Comprehensive and coherent
economic policies remain urgent and must not be delayed by approaching
elections and recovering oil prices,” IMF said in its annual Article IV review
of Nigeria’s economy.
“Higher oil prices would support
a recovery in 2018 but a ‘muddle-through’ outlook is projected for the medium
term under current policies, with fiscal dominance and structural constraints
leading to continuing falls in real GDP per capita.
“Further delays in policy action
— including because of pre-election pressures — can only make the inevitable
adjustment more difficult and costlier.”
The lender reteirated that
Nigeria needs to simplify its complex foreign exchange system.
“Moving towards a unified
exchange rate should be pursued as soon as possible. (IMF) staff does not
support the exchange measures that have given rise to the exchange restrictions
and multiple currency practices.”
It also said that the Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should stop its intervention activities in the foreign
exchange market.
The CBN has been injecting money
into the forex market to ease the pressure on the naira.
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