IMF: WE’RE READY TO HELP NIGERIA

Managing Director IMF, Ms Christine Legarde who made the remarks at a press conference in Washington DC said the recommendation of the institution is that Nigeria should seek help from the international institutions that can best help.

“Second is that Nigeria is open-minded about using flexibility of the exchange rate in order to absorb some of the shock. We believe that is more efficient than to have a list of the products that are barred from being imported in the country.

“Third, we believe that it is really important that the budget be completed, decided, and approved. We stand ready to help Nigeria if it wants to seek our help. Having visited Nigeria in January, I believe that it is also really important that the country looks at diversifying its economy, because it cannot rely exclusively on commodity prices only, particularly oil, because it might very well stay low for longer”, she said adding that Nigeria is full of energy and smart people and can really transform some of its activities, including in the agricultural sector, where there is just too much by way of imports when there could be a lot of transformation in Nigeria and local consumption.

She said that the low price of commodities in general, but of oil in particular, remains a critical issue.
“If I recall, I think it is 80 percent of your exports and 60 percent of your revenue, is actually oil-dependent. So, when there is a massive decline in the price of oil, those two also take a similar hit. So, it has a major impact on the country”, she said.