By Dipo Olowookere
Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, has disclosed that Nigeria will no longer run to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for loan because it has finally decided to look for better alternative to source for funds for capital projects.
Mrs Adeosun made this disclosure yesterday in Abuja, saying the country will now pursue its own economic reform plan.
She described the IMF as a last resort for loan and pointed out that the reforms highlighted by the global financial firm were already being looked into and implemented.
She told CNBC that, “For us, the IMF is really a lender of last resort when you have balance of payments problem.
“Nigeria doesn’t have balance of payments problems per se, it has a fiscal problem.”
She said further, “We are already doing as much reform as any IMF programme would impose on Nigeria,” adding that, “Nigerians want to take responsibility for their future. We must have our home-grown, home-designed programme of reform.”
According to Mrs Adeosun, “Non-oil revenue is improving very steadily. All the measures we have put in place are beginning to yield fruits.”
She posited that, “Oil production is back up, we are very grateful for that, but we should be careful for getting excited about that.”
