Hope on the horizon as IMF acknowledges Nigeria’s economic reforms

At the recently concluded annual meetings of the IMF/World Bank Group in Washington, D.C., U.S., global stakeholders acknowledged the positive impact of Nigeria’s economic reforms and gave the country a clean bill of health.

On the sidelines of the meetings, many countries within the African continent received accolades for their resilience in the midst of a global economic storm.

The Director of the African Department in the IMF, Abebe Selassie, said that Sub-Saharan Africa showed resilience amidst global economic headwinds.

Selassie said that the continent had shown resilience in spite of a challenging global environment marked by slowing global growth, fluctuating commodity prices and tight financing conditions.

He said that, though growth remained steady, resource-dependent and conflict-affected countries still faced significant hurdles with modest improvements in per capital incomes.

According to him, global factors such as weaker external demand, divergent commodity prices and tightening financial markets continue to test the region’s economic resilience.

Selassie commended Nigeria for its efforts to address domestic revenue mobilisation and debt management.

He said that there was substantial scope to boost revenues through improved tax administration and policy reforms.

Selassie, however, said that success would depend on stronger technical capacity, political buy-in, and attention to the social impact of such reforms.

He said that Nigeria’s recent inflationary trend was consistent with monetary tightening.

“While monetary policy has been intelligently managed, I believe there is still some distance to go before achieving the desired stability,” he said.

The Division Chief, Fiscal Affairs Department of IMF, Davide Furceri, urged Nigeria to adopt smarter spending and stronger tax systems.

Furceri said that Nigeria’s ongoing fiscal and structural reforms were neutral and well aligned with monetary policies designed to curb inflation and stabilise the economy.

He said that the IMF’s latest assessment of fiscal policy across developing economies, especially the Nigeria’s policy direction, was consistent with efforts to strike a balance between revenue mobilisation and efficient expenditure management.

“Currently, what we are projecting for Nigeria is a neutral fiscal stance, which we believe is consistent with monetary policies aimed at reducing inflation.”

He advised Nigeria to focus on revenue and expenditure sides of public finance.

“Nigeria has made significant progress in recent years; several laws have been passed to streamline the tax code, reduce tax expenditures and ease the compliance burden for businesses and coerce.

“These are steps in the right direction.”

Furceri called for greater efficiency in public spending to ensure better outcomes for citizens.

He said that optimising on how resources are allocated and spent could deliver substantial economic and social gains.

“In addition, it is important to increase social spending, particularly to support vulnerable households and ensure inclusive growth,” he said.

He urged Nigeria to continue to implement key fiscal and monetary reforms under its medium-term economic framework, fiscal discipline, improved revenue generation and enhanced transparency in public finance management.

Furceri said that IMF’s endorsement reflected growing confidence in Nigeria’s reform trajectory, even as the government pushes for policies aimed at boosting growth, reducing inequality and sustaining macroeconomic stability.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) assured foreign investors that the government would continue to advance reforms and unlock opportunities for sustainable investment and growth.

The CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso, spoke to the investors in the sidelines of the annual meetings in Washington.

Cardoso said that the CBN and the Ministry of Finance were working hand in hand to ensure alignment, stability and clarity for investors.

“Nigeria’s focus remains clear, strengthening our fundamentals, advancing reforms and unlocking opportunities for sustainable investment and growth.

“We are encouraged by the progress made so far and remain confident that ongoing reforms are laying a stronger foundation for a more resilient economy,” he said.

One highlight of the annual meetings was Cardoso’s election as the chair of the Intergovernmental Group of 24 (G-24), an influential bloc of developing countries.

This has also elevated Nigeria’s status on the global stage, confirming the international community’s growing confidence in the country’s economic reforms.

Cardoso said that Nigeria’s new leadership role at the G-24 would be impactful.

“This milestone underscores international confidence in Nigeria’s leadership and our growing influence in shaping the global financial architecture,” he said.

The CBN governor also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Central Bank of Angola during the meetings, to strengthen regional monetary cooperation and financial stability.

He said that the agreement was in line with Nigeria’s broader goal to enhance its influence in regional and multilateral institutions.

Mohammed Abdullahi, CBN’s Deputy Governor on Economic Policy, said that the series of reforms introduced by the government led to significant improvement in foreign exchange inflows.

Abdullahi said that monthly turnover in the forex market had risen by 56.4 per cent to 8.6 billion dollars in 2025, up from 5.5 billion dollars in 2024.

“Over the last two years, we have really focused a lot on improving FX inflow into the economy, and we have seen a significant jump.

“Average net flows between January 2023 and July have doubled.

“FX supply at the official window has significantly improved and has been driven by order-based quotation, a lot of reforms around remittances and all the other issues mentioned,” he said .

The Minister of State for Finance, Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, said that fiscal and monetary reforms were increasingly integrated.

According to Uzoka-Anite, everyone is really excited about the reforms and the macroeconomic stability that has followed.

“To them here, it is like a miracle that we could do such bold, multiple reforms and within two years, we are witnessing growth.”

She linked the falling inflation to improved clarity in the FX market which is reducing the high cost pass-through that previously distorted prices.

“There is more confidence; traders and manufacturers are pricing FX better, and it is bringing food and manufactured goods down,” she said.

As the Nigerian authorities continue to bask in the euphoria of a commendable outing at the annual meetings, some Nigerians complain that such global commendation is at variance with reality in the country.

They urge the Federal Government to take urgent steps to ensure that the various economic reforms translated to improved standard of living for the common man. (NANFeatures)

 l