By Kingston Magare 7-7-2025
The President Bola Tinubu’s administration is not making the right moves to bring down inflation and reset the Nigeria ‘s economy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a report released on Monday.
The world financial advisory body and promoter of economic growth stated that Nigeria was not investing enough on infrastruture and human capacity, noting that eratic power supply, insecurity, food scarcity were still wide spread.
In the report tittled “How Nigeria Can Unleash Its Economic Potential,” the IMF emphasised the need for an effective budgetary framework.
“The country needs stronger and more sustained growth to lift millions of people out of poverty and food insecurity, which is what the authorities are focusing on
“As an essential ingredient for economic development, Nigeria needs an effective budget framework. Delivering effective investments in people and infrastructure requires realistic budget assumptions, strong expenditure management, and transparent implementation and reporting, which, in turn, can strengthen accountability, the report said in part.
“For now, the share of revenue that goes to interest spending leaves too little for investment in people and infrastructure. It is, therefore, critical that the substantial financial savings from the removal of fuel subsidies flow to the government to fund priority spending,” it stated.
On inflation, the IMF urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to maintain a firm economic and monetary stance.
“For its part, monetary policy should continue to decisively tackle inflation and reduce economic uncertainty,” the IMF wrote.
“This is essential given Nigeria’s substantial funding needs in growth-enabling areas such as agriculture, infrastructure, including access to electricity, and climate adaptation. The government’s tax reforms will make it easier to pay taxes and ensure that everyone who owes taxes pays them,” it advised.