The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, has said that the organisation was keen to assist the Federal Government of Nigeria in tracing stolen funds, plugging revenue leakages and restructuring the tax system.
Lagarde, who is in the country on a four-day working visit, also 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.
The IMF boss reportedly said this during a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, according to a statement by the President’s Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina.
Buhari, on his part, said he had told all heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government that under his leadership, they must give full account of all funds allocated to them.
He said his administration would look inwards, enforce regulations to stop financial leakages and adopt global best practices in generating more revenue to mitigate the effects of dwindling oil prices on the Nigerian economy.
The President said that the Federal Government was reviewing its operational costs and had directed all the MDAs to cut down on their overheads.
According to him, the Federal Government will welcome the technical support and expertise of the IMF for its plans to diversify the Nigerian economy and further unleash its growth potential.
After her meeting with Buhari, the IMF boss said with the determination and resilience so far displayed by Buhari and his team, Nigeria did not need any loan from her organisation and that she was not in the country to negotiate loans with the Federal Government.
