Says Policy Is Strictly Domestic
By Kolawole Ojebisi
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has denied playing a role in the removal of fuel subsidy by the Nigerian government.
The International organization said it didn’t persuade or goad the Tinubu administration into removing fuel subsidy as part of policies to rejuvenate the economy and take the country out of the woods.
Speaking at the weekend at a press briefing on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington DC, United States, Abebe Selassie, IMF’s African Region Director, described the decision to remove fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu as a domestic one.
“The decision was a domestic one. We don’t have programmes in Nigeria. Our role is limited to regular dialogue, as we have with other nations like Japan or the UK,” Selassie said.
However, Selassie argued that the government’s choices regarding subsidy removal reflect its long-term strategy for sustainable economic growth.
“We recognize the significant social costs involved. The government can mitigate these by expanding social protection for the most vulnerable,” he said.
Recall that during his inauguration on May 29, 2023, President Tinubu had declared that fuel “subsidy is gone”.
That pronouncement immediately led to a hike in the cost of the commodity across the country. From about N200 per litre, the product is currently selling for about N1,200 in several parts of the country.
The biting economy has reportedly brought about hardship in Nigeria while many civil servants can no longer make ends meet.
Many Nigerians had accused the government of adhering IMF policies in implementing total subsidy removal.
Meanwhile, many commentators and political analysts have cautioned the government against taking IMF policies hook, line and sinker stressing that wholesale application of what they described as “neo-liberal” IMF and World Bank policies can spell doom for the country’s economy.
