The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has underscored near-term downside risks arising from Nigeria’s elevated inflation, high debt-servicing costs, external sector pressures, and oil sector volatility.
Looking ahead, the IMF directors who recently visited Nigeria recommended decisive fiscal and monetary tightening to secure macroeconomic stability, combined with structural reforms to improve governance, strengthen the agricultural sector, and boost inclusive, sustainable growth.
The IMF directors also urged the authorities to finalise securitisation of the CBN’s existing stock of overdrafts and emphasised that the CBN’s budget financing should strictly adhere to the statutory limits.
The CBN’s total loan to the federal government through Ways and Means advances was recently put at N22.7 trillion, an amount director-general of the Debt Management Office (DMO) Patience Oniha said would take the government between N1.8 and N2.2 trillion to service annually if the National Assembly fails to securitise the facility.
