Nigeria’s sweeping economic reforms have reignited investor confidence and earned praise from global institutions, but the toll on the nation’s poorest citizens has cast a shadow over the gains.
As Africa’s largest economy charts a new course towards fiscal stability, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has sounded a cautionary note — urging the government to cushion the reforms’ harshest impacts with targeted social investments.
During her first visit to Nigeria, Gita Gopinath, the IMF’s First Deputy Managing Director, commended the government for implementing long-overdue measures such as the liberalisation of the foreign exchange market and the removal of fuel subsidies.