Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun has disclosed that Nigeria will not be seeking loans from the International Monetary Fund.
According to a statement by the Media aide to the Minister, Festus Akanbi, the finance minister made the observation during the 2016 Spring meeting of the WorldBank/IMF in Washington DC.
The Minister who spoke on behalf of the Federal Government noted that the country is focused on diversifying the economy away from its over dependence on oil. She said that the country was adapting to its new realities by implementing fiscal policies to steer the country back on track for stable growth.
“Nigeria is not sick. The real vulnerability in the Nigerian economy is over-dependence on a single source of revenue; oil.
“We have resolved to build resilience into the country’s economy to hedge against future oil shocks. This is because dependence on oil brings about vulnerability and laziness.
“So, we are doing a combination of things to diversify our economy, with revenue mobilisation to enable sufficient investment in developing the non-oil sectors.
She said that Nigeria has opportunities and the fundamentals are strong. She called on investors to consider Nigeria as the prospects are bright in the long term.
“We have great opportunities to reset the Nigerian economy and ensure that as we go forward, growth will be in a sustainable manner so that we won’t be vulnerable to oil price fluctuations.
“The compelling business case in Nigeria is that the fundamentals remain very strong, a teaming, young growing population, rich in resources and with a government determined to finally get it right.
“The great thing is that long term investors recognise this and understand the difference between short term and long term issues and the case for Nigeria persuades one to plan for the longer term opportunities.”
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