The Federal Government has stated that Nigeria may seek a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over its mounting debts if it cannot address its fiscal challenges before further escalating.

This was disclosed by the Director General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze, during an interview on an Arise Television programme, where he insisted that Nigeria needs to sort out its revenue problem.

Akabueze, who said that although Nigeria was not yet in that kind of desperate situation to seek relief from IMF, however, warned that the country may unwillingly ask for a bailout from the multilateral financial institution if the fiscal challenges are not addressed in a sensible and sustainable manner.

What the Budget Office Director General is saying

Akabueze, on the rising fiscal headwinds, said, “Essentially, there are two ways countries end up with the IMF. One is voluntary when they just say look IMF come we need help, or when things get to the grind where they simply have no other option.

“I don’t see Nigeria going to the IMF voluntarily. It’s a hot issue here in Nigeria. But the honest truth is that if we don’t address our fiscal challenges in a sensible and sustainable manner, we may end up unwillingly with the IMF.’’

Going further, he added. “We are not there yet at the point of involuntary. But we could as much stop digging. There is a maxim that if you find yourself in a pit, you should stop digging and start climbing out.

“And if we continue to fund regressive deficits, it is tantamount to continuing to dig. If we continue to pass on reasonable opportunities to increase revenues by introducing taxes, it is tantamount to continue digging.

“Even though I said we should not cut expenditure in total, we need to get more efficient in our spending. If we don’t do that again, it is tantamount to continuing to dig.”

The Budget Office boss said that although he would not advocate for cutting expenditure in total, he advised that the country should be more efficient in its spending, noting that if that the inability to do that will be tantamount to also digging into the hole.

In case you missed it

Akabueze in the same interview suggested that the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) should increase the amount of statutory contribution made by banks.

The Budget Office also disagreed with the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantanmi, on the suspension of the 5% excise duty on telecommunication services.

https://nairametrics.com/2022/09/07/fg-says-it-may-seek-bailout-from-imf-if-fiscal-challenges-are-not-addressed/

[img]https://nairametrics.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Ben-Akabueze-1.webp[/img]

When you have a president who cannot think out of the box, the only source of revenue generation becomes crude oil and borrowing.

Now, 70% of the money for financing 2023 budget will come from borrowing.

What happened to diversification Buhari was screaming since 2015?

worst of the worst about to come to Nigeria. Nigerians fasten your seat belts because Apshit is about to take this country to her doom..

Nigeria has EXPIRED. We need to break up this non-working entity peacefully.

Our problems stem from our bad culture. As a man (people) thinketh in his heart, so he is.

Nigeria as a country is extremely blessed with natural resources, but our inclination towards opulence will never allow that country to develop.

Mr. Akabueze, is totally right when he states that nigeria needs to increase its revenue from taxation. what he fails to mention is the category of nigerians that should be taxed.

let me try to explain the Nigerian economy in its most basic form that even a 5 year old child can understand.
A. Outflow of Dollars

1. we get most of our foreign income from oil sales in Dollars.

2. whenever we buy any imported good, such as phones, clothes or cars, we are literally spending the dollars we earned from oil.

3. the fewer dollars we have, the less valuable our naira is, so the higher the price of essentials like petrol, food (transportation cost) and electricity, which are all universally priced in dollars.

summary
the more people buy cars, phones and clothes, the higher the price of essentials such as food and energy, all things being equal.

B. Inflow of Dollars (capitalism vs socialism): diversification
1. Kemi Badenoch recently described Nigeria as a socialist state and this drew the ire of a lot of netizens. the most important economic questions related to production is what to produce, how to produce and for whom to produce for. from a national perspective, these three questions best differentiate a socialist state from a capitalist one. in a socialist state, the government decides these questions where as in a capitalist state the people make the decisions.
ideas such as cassava bread, rice revolution, green revolution are socialist in nature. Nollywood and afrobeats are capitalist in nature.

2. my personal belief is that capitalism is the only path to shared prosperity. it may have its issues but it is the best among all bad choices.

3. the governments role in a capitalist society is the provision of safety, justice and a level playing field for all of its citizens. the most important building block to achieve these things is quality basic education.

summary
quality basic education is the best way to spur your citizens to produce goods and services. this is what capitalism is about.

overall summary:
taxes must be focused on imported goods( things that are mostly consumed by the rich) as these directly impact on the amount of dollars we have. revenue from taxes must be used primarily on basic education.

Upon all the loans Buhari chop.....

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Na to sit-down look now.
Nigeria is been destroyed daily.
Buhari is a plague that will take 500 years to eradicate.

Okay

Nice one

Only you Waka com

Must they loan to Nigeria?. The next Govt will suffer ehhh. The worst is that Nigerians easily forget. They will forget Buhari just 2yrs to the new Govt

These are some of the issues people were warned about in 2015, but a lot were defiant