International Monetary Fund that Nigeria is one of the countries that has the lowest rate of revenue in the world. Speaking in Washington at a press briefing on the October 2019 World Economic Outlook IMF Economic Counsellor and Director of Research Ms Gita Gopinath said “For sometime now, we have been emphasising the need for a comprehensive package to lift growth. One element of that will have to be stronger non oil revenue mobilisation. Nigeria has one of the lowest rates of revenue in the world, which hit hard by the drop in oil prices. Non oil revenue mobilisation is essential for the country to be able to spend more on priorities, such as social safety and infrastructure.
“Other areas are the need for a tight monetary policy and a simpler unified exchange rate system. Foreign exchange restrictions have also been distorting public and private sector decisions and holding back investment. More generally, strengthening the banking system resilience and continued stronger structural reforms, especially in infrastructure and power sector and broader governance are critical. She said that for Nigeria to move forward economically, a lot depends upon oil prices and prospects. There has been some weakness coming from that. The important thing to keep in mind about Nigeria is that per capita growth remains weak, this is why we call for structural reforms.
The International Monetary Fund had projected that the Nigerian economy will grow by 2.3 per cent in 2019, 2.5 in 2020 and 2.6 per cent in 2024. According to the IMF “The world economy is projected to grow at 3.0 per cent in 2019—a significant drop from 2017–18 for emerging market and developing economies as well as advanced economies, before recovering to 3.4 per cent in 2020. A slightly higher growth rate is projected for 2021–24. This global growth pattern reflects a major downturn and projected recovery in a group of emerging market economies. By contrast, growth is expected to moderate into 2020 and beyond for a group of systemic economies comprising the United States, euro area, China, and Japan—which together account for close to half of global GDP”.
By Omoh Gabriel
