The director general of the Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze, has said Nigeria is in dire need of foreign currency concessionary loans and investments to further stabilise the country’s exchange rate.
He stated this while speaking on behalf of the minister of Finance and coordinating minister of the economy, Wale Edun during the G24 press briefing at the ongoing International Monetary Fund/ World Bank spring meetings ongoing in Washington DC on Tuesday.
Akabueze, answering a question on the fiscal challenges of the country, particularly its burgeoning debt, said “the most important support that Nigeria requires at this time is investment and increased trade. So, while Official Development Assistance (ODA) is helpful at the end of the day, that’s not what’s going to sustainably address the scale of Nigeria’s problems.
“There are a lot of investment opportunities especially in areas like infrastructure. At the same time, of course, concessionary debt and support still remain important for the country, especially foreign currency-denominated for one it helps also with addressing the foreign currency supply situation that puts pressure on the exchange rate.
“You can see inflation is high and is being tackled, we see inflation beginning to basically peak and we can see a reversing trend towards the second half of this year. The exchange rates are stabilised now, we have seen basically the parallel and the foreign exchange market rates merge. I think that all of these are inspiring greater confidence in investors, whether it be portfolio investors, foreign direct investors, and even domestic investors as well.”
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