Jega Warns Nigeria Against Blindly Accepting IMF, World Bank Advices

The former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, has warned Nigeria against receiving every advice offered by the Bretton Woods institutions, especially the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Jega issued the warning on Wednesday in his lecture at the ongoing 2024 Annual Directors’ Conference with the theme, “Good Governance as a catalyst for Economic Recovery, Growth and Development,” organised by the Chartered Institute of Directors of Nigeria (CIoD).

According to the former University Don, while it was good and useful to engage with the information from the IMF and others, the government must, however, apply caution to avoid plunging the country into huge problems.

Jega also called for a reform of nation’s leadership recruitment process, stating that the major challenge confronting Nigeria is that most of the leaders were not prepared for leadership.

He advised Nigerians to pay serious attention to nurturing and embracing democratic governance “rather than merely good governance being promoted by the World Bank,” because this is the only way to place Nigeria “on a sustainable trajectory of what I called, ‘People-oriented development processes.’

“We should not swallow hook, line and sinker what they bring to us. We must be very careful in terms of what measures they have suggested to us because if we don’t do that we may advertently or inadvertently fall into greater medium and longer term problems even if we think we are seeing short term benefits from that kind of engagement.”

President and chairman of Council of the Institute, Alhaji Tijjani Borodo, affirmed that the Chartered Institute of Directors of Nigeria “proudly leads the charge in promoting corporate governance across the country.”

He added, “One of the Institute’s core missions is to enhance the professional capabilities of directors and business leaders in both the public and private sectors, covering a wide range of industries.

“As the recognised voice of Directors and Corporate Governance, the CIoD empowers our members to make meaningful contributions to their organizations, communities, and the nation as a whole.

“We are committed to building connections among top business leaders and working closely with the government to shape policies that support a favorable business environment, even in challenging times, to drive wealth creation.”

LEADERSHIP recalls that the Bretton Woods institutions have been accused of advising President Bola Tinubu on his economic policies, especially the removal of fuel subsidy as well as the floating of the Naira, which have plunged the country into inflationary pressures.

The IMF’s African Region Director, Abebe Selassie, at a briefing on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington DC, in the United State, however clarified that the organisation did not advise the Nigerian President to remove fuel subsidy.

“The decision was a domestic one. It was President Tinubu’s decision. We don’t have programmes in Nigeria. Our role is limited to regular dialogue, as we have with other nations like Japan or the UK,” Selassie had clarified.