The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has concluded its Article IV consultation with Nigeria and called for the removal of fuel subsidy.
According to a statement by the fund, this afternoon, in place of fuel subsidy, it urged the federal government to increase its social spending on the poor as a means of reducing poverty in the country. According to the statement, board members, “noted that phasing out implicit fuel subsidies while strengthening social safety nets to mitigate the impact on the most vulnerable would help reduce the poverty gap and free up additional fiscal space.”
Structural reforms
The directors also told the authorities to reinvigorate implementation of structural reforms to diversify the economy, improve the business environment and implement the power sector recovery programme.
