Budget Office faults IMF’s projections of Nigeria’s economy

The Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze, has said that in the last four years, the projections of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the Nigerian economy have been flawed.

Akabueze said this of the agency’s projections while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday.

“In the last four years, IMF has got it wrong about our projections. Our actual growth have always beat their projections.”

He said that the IMF’s projections “do not represent the holy grail on economic growth”, while noting that the organisation “can’t get it right better than the people who have direct responsibility for managing their individual economies”.

Akabueze said the growth rate projected by the Tinubu government in its maiden budget “doesn’t even yet reflect the ambition of the government”, adding that the administration “wants to double the GDP before the end of the first term”.

He said the 2024 budget estimates awaiting approval at the National Assembly was “way too small” to Nigeria’s need but the government had to cut its coat according to its cloth.

Recall that President Bola Tinubu on November 29, 2023 presented his maiden budget estimates of N27.5trn for the year 2024 to the National Assembly (NASS).

The President said the economy is expected to grow by 3.76%, while “inflation is expected to moderate to 21.4 percent in 2024”

The President’s projection is inconsistent with the IMF’s earlier October prediction that forecasts 3.1% GDP growth for the nation in 2024.