Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, has said the state of Nigeria’s economy is not as bad as the naysayers would have everyone believe while stressing that the country is currently suffering from her over-dependence on a single source of revenue – crude oil.
The Minister, confident and bullish, said on Saturday that Nigeria will pull through the prevalent economic conditions without taking a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Adeosun was quoted to have spoken at the ongoing Spring Meetings of the IMF-World Bank in Washington DC while explaining Nigeria’s reluctance to apply for IMF loans.
The Minister stated that the Nigerian government was already applying a ‘cocktail of measures’ to address her economic challenges.
A statement signed by the Special Adviser to the Minister on Media, Festus Akanbi, quoted the minister to have said that sound fiscal policies and investments would boost Nigeria’s economy by 2017.
“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.”
“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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