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The growing impact of reforms, which has provided homegrown strategies for the country’s economic recovery, has firmly ruled out any immediate recourse to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for bailout, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, has declared.
Edun, who addressed African Finance Ministers on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank Meetings in Washington, said the reform programme embarked on by the present administration over the past two years has begun to yield tangible results, restoring credibility to economic management and strengthening the country’s ability to withstand mounting global headwinds.
He further underscored the government’s deliberate shift towards market-led policies, stressing that Nigeria resisted the temptation of administrative controls, particularly in the areas of management of foreign exchange and petroleum products pricing.
The Minister said Nigeria’s reliance on market mechanisms has helped soften the impact of necessary adjustments, reducing dislocations and keeping the economy on a steady macroeconomic trajectory even as global uncertainties persist.
“The direction for the country is clear,” the Minister said. “Nigeria is staying the course with internally-driven reforms, rather than turning to multi-lateral financing or bailout.”
Despite Nigeria’s improving economic outlook, he cautioned that the broader African landscape remained fragile.
While reforms have enabled Nigeria to build critical buffers, the Minister noted that many African countries remained highly exposed to external shocks and urgently require support to stabilise their economies.
He called for accelerated and better-coordinated international financial support for vulnerable economies, particularly as discussions intensify around a proposed $50 billion global assistance package.