During a press conference on the Global Financial Stability Report at the IMF/World Bank annual meetings in Washington, D.C., Tobias Adrian, the IMF’s Financial Counsellor and Director of Monetary and Capital Markets, highlighted the sustained activity of Nigeria and other frontier markets in the debt market throughout 2024, despite rising financing costs compared to pre-2021 levels.
“Frontier markets, including Nigeria, have been active in the debt market this year,” Adrian said. “Though access to financing is still more expensive than before, the overall issuance levels have been encouraging.”
The IMF also endorsed Nigeria’s recent monetary policy measures, praising the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) interest rate hikes and foreign exchange reforms aimed at stabilizing the economy.
Adrian emphasized the importance of the CBN’s shift toward inflation targeting and exchange rate liberalization in addressing inflation, which remains close to 30%.
Adrian further stressed the urgency of these reforms, particularly as inflationary pressures have been exacerbated by natural disasters, such as floods, that have worsened living conditions for many Nigerians.
In its latest World Economic Outlook report, the IMF revised Nigeria’s growth forecast for 2024, projecting a 2.9% growth rate, the same pace recorded in 2023.
This represents a 0.2% downgrade from the IMF’s previous forecast in July and a 0.4% decline from April’s projection.
The revision reflects the IMF’s cautious stance on challenges facing emerging markets like Nigeria, with the lender noting, “The revision reflects slower growth in Nigeria, amid weaker-than-expected activity in the first half of the year.”
Jean-Marc Natal, the IMF’s Deputy Chief of the Research Department, elaborated on Nigeria’s growth challenges, citing disruptions in agriculture and oil production as significant factors.
“We revised growth for Nigeria in 2024 by 0.2% down,” Natal said. “The revision is due to issues in agriculture related to flooding and challenges in oil production stemming from security and maintenance issues.”
However, the IMF projects a brighter outlook for 2025, forecasting a growth rate of 3.2%, which is 0.2% higher than earlier projections made in July and April.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, held strategic discussions with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva during the conference.
According to a statement from the ministry, Edun emphasized Nigeria’s economic growth prospects and the progress made under President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda.
“Leading Nigeria’s delegation, Edun will focus on strengthening Nigeria’s economic resilience amid ongoing structural reforms,” the statement read.
During the G-24 leaders’ press briefing at the meetings, Edun called for concessional loans from the IMF and World Bank to support countries like Nigeria that are undertaking economic reforms.
He stressed that concessional loans are vital for achieving macroeconomic sustainability while cushioning the poor and vulnerable from the immediate impacts of adjustment policies.
“When we talk about debt sustainability and reform, support from the international community is critical,” Edun said. “It is essential to ensure that social safety nets are in place to help the poor and vulnerable cope with the initial costs of reforms.”
Additionally, the CBN, led by Governor Yemi Cardoso, is expected to host a session titled “Strengthening Ties with Nigerians Abroad,” aimed at exploring ways the Nigerian diaspora can contribute to boosting remittance inflows, which are vital for maintaining foreign exchange reserves amid fiscal challenges.
