Economic stimulus: Osinbajo holds virtual meeting with IMF, World Bank reps 

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday in Abuja held an online meeting with representatives of the International Monetary Fund(IMF) and the World Bank.

The meeting, anchored via videoconferencing from the Presidential Villa, deliberated on how the agencies could collaborate with Nigeria in the planned additional economic stimulus packages to address the fallout of COVID-19 pandemic.

President Muhammadu  Buhari on March 30, set up the Economic Sustainability Committee(ESC) headed by the vice president  to  develop a clear economic sustainability plan  until 2023.

The committee was tasked with identifying fiscal and monetary measures to enhance oil and non-oil revenues in order to fund the plan; develop a stimulus package and come up with measures to create more jobs while keeping existing ones.

Buhari had also approved an initial economic stimulus package of N500 billion.

The global economy is expected to go into recession in 2020 while the IMF has predicted that Nigeria will go into recession to a level of negative 3.4 per cent.

The ESC had expressed optimism that with the plans it had drawn, Nigeria would be able to return to positive growth by 2021.