Posted on 10-3-2002
Nigeria
Rejects IMF Programme
(Photo shows Minister of Finance, Mallam Adamu Ciroma L, and
Mallam Shehu
Malami R, former Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa)
ABUJA, March 5 2002 (AFP) - The Nigerian government on Tuesday
withdrew rom
a formal International Monetary Fund (IMF) monitored programme,
an official
statement by the presidency said.
Nigeria took the decision "because it values the benefits of
political
stability, democratic consolidation, credibility and accountability,"
said
the statement. "It does not wish, therefore, to continue with
arrangements
where only narrowly defined macroeconomic targets come into
play," said the
text signed by presidential spokesman Tunji Oseni.
From July 2000 to June last year, the government was involved
in a Standby
Arrangement with the IMF, an official statement by Finance Minister
Adamu
Ciroma said Tuesday. After that arrangement ended, the government
agreed to
a monitoring arrangement with the international financial body
which has
been in place since then, it said. Despite "measurable gains"
made in the
last two and a half years, some real challenges have emerged,
the minister
said. "These challenges, especially involving fiscal spending
with adverse
effects on the foreign exchange rate, have caused the government
to fall
short of some of its marcroeconomic targets," he stated. "The
government
owes it to the people of Nigeria and secondarily to its external
partners
to identify prudent economic objectives that the people of Nigeria
can
support.
As Nigerians are new to the practice of democracy, the government
needs to
come up with approaches that secure the support of a majority
of the
National Assembly and the people of Nigeria for its macroeconomic
targets
which have to be disciplined and credible, he also said. These
targets
include low and stable consumer prices, a stable and sustainable
foreign
exchange rate and a faster pace of economic growth, he explained.
The
statement said that government would inform the nation's external
partners
"that we will not be able to commit to a new programme at this
time.
"Instead, we will wait until the (2002) budget is finalised
and then
develop a serious, disciplined and credible programme," Ciroma
also said.
"We trust that the people of Nigeria and our international partners
will
understand and appreciate this decision we have taken," he concluded.
Analysts urge fiscal discipline for Nigeria after IMF break,
March 6, 2002
LAGOS, March 6 (AFP) - Analysts Wednesday urged fiscal discipline
and
economic prudency a day after Nigeria withdrew from a formal
International
Monetary Fund (IMF) monitored programme. The Nigerian government
said it
took the decision Tuesday "because it values the benefits of
political
stability, democratic consolidation, credibility and accountability."
"It
does not wish, therefore, to continue with arrangements where
only narrowly
defined macroeconomic targets come into play," said presidential
spokesman
Tunji Oseni in a statement.
But economic analysts said Wednesday Nigeria has to show financial
discipline and prudent management of its resources if it wants
to stand
alone. "The decision will only be justified if Nigeria can prudently
manage
its
vast oil and gas resources. There has to be a great deal of
financial
discipline to do that," said political economist Pat Utomi.
Stressing that
the IMF "does not claim to have a monopoly of wisdom", the director
of
Lagos Business School said the Nigerian government can still
initiate
programmes that the Bretton Woods institution may support. "The
government
should get its priorities right by coming up with reasonable
programmes
that lead to growth, poverty-reduction, improvement in social
infrastructures, and above all, exercise discipline in management
of
resources," he added.
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