Growth: IMF urges Nigeria to prioritise infrastructure projects

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged Nigeria to prioritise and embark on infrastructural projects that would boost the economic growth of the Nation.

Mr Paolo Mauro, Deputy Director, IMF Fiscal Affairs Department, said this on Wednesday during the launch of the Fiscal Monitor Report for October at the on-going IMF/World Bank Group (WBG) Annual Meetings in Bali.

The report looks at global public sector assets and liabilities 10 years after the global financial crisis.

He said that increasing revenues was very important for Nigeria, but equally significant was the choices made on what it would be spent on.

He said: “Generally, I think it is not only about shoring up the revenue, but also being careful about the spending by improving the choices that one makes on which infrastructure project to carry out.

“How does one go about selecting the ones that are really going to boost growth?

“So I think it is a priority to increase revenues but also to be careful about the ways we can make spending more efficient.”

Mauro also said that the ratio of interest payments to revenue for Nigeria was high, adding that increase in revenues would ensure social spending, build infrastructure and carrying out other types of spending for economic growth.