The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will assist the Federal Government in tracing and recovering stolen funds, plugging revenue leakages, and restructuring the tax system.
The IMF boss spoke with State House correspondents shortly after holding a closed-door meeting with Buhari; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; and some key ministers inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
She said that Nigeria had all the potential to overcome the current economic challenge of falling commodity prices without resorting to the IMF for financial support.
Lagarde added that although Nigeria did not need IMF loans, fiscal discipline was needed for the country to be sustainable.
She said, “Let me make it clear that I am not here (in Nigeria) nor is my team in this country to negotiate a loan with conditionality. We are not into programme negotiations and frankly at this point in time, given the determination and resilience displayed by the President and his team, I don’t see why an IMF programme will be needed.
“So, of course, discipline is going to be needed; of course, implementation is going to be key for the objectives and the ambition to serve the country well in order for it to be actually sustainable.”
She said that the meeting provided an opportunity for her to discuss with the FG on the necessity to apply fiscal discipline, and the need to also respond to the population needs, while addressing the medium term specificities of improving the competitiveness of Nigeria and also focusing on the short term fiscal situation.
