L
LequteMan
Guest
According to gists about a Financial Times article, the economic situation in Nigeria is about to go from bad to worse and the poor are about to get poorer.
Nigeria will soon cut her budget and slash her $65 oil benchmark downward for the fiscal year 2015, Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala reportedly said.
She also reduced Nigeria's growth rate from a projected 5.5 percent to 4.5-4.8 percent for the year.
Currently Nigeria is facing a tough time generating revenue due to the fall in oil prices worldwide and political instability. President Goodluck Jonathan is facing former head of state General Muhammadu Buhari in a closely contested election come March 2015.
As a result of these, Nigeria has had to make budget cuts and also reduce the oil benchmark for the fiscal year, making funds scarce to execute capital projects.
Also the Central Bank of Nigeria has had to devalue the Naira to alleviate pressure on the currency. In addition, the apex bank is spending billions daily from the external reserves to support the currency.
Yet this has proved ineffective as the Naira continued it's downward fall. Yesterday the Naira exchanged for N200 to a dollar, a low not experienced for years. It's believed that the Naira would be devalued again for the second time to maintain stability.
However, FG had take steps to cushion the negative effects of the oil crash and political instability in the country.
The government, introducing austerity measures has decided to cut governance costs and also introduced tax on luxury goods.
FG is also responding to calls to diversify its economy through agriculture and other means. Last year, Nigeria raised an extra $600m from the non-oil sector, an amount which Godwin Emefiele, governor of the CBN has said would double this year.
Experts had predicted that tough times await Nigerians ahead with the current situation, but following the new developments it's believed that things are about to get worse.
#Nigeria #CBN #Minister
Nigeria will soon cut her budget and slash her $65 oil benchmark downward for the fiscal year 2015, Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala reportedly said.
She also reduced Nigeria's growth rate from a projected 5.5 percent to 4.5-4.8 percent for the year.
Currently Nigeria is facing a tough time generating revenue due to the fall in oil prices worldwide and political instability. President Goodluck Jonathan is facing former head of state General Muhammadu Buhari in a closely contested election come March 2015.
As a result of these, Nigeria has had to make budget cuts and also reduce the oil benchmark for the fiscal year, making funds scarce to execute capital projects.
Also the Central Bank of Nigeria has had to devalue the Naira to alleviate pressure on the currency. In addition, the apex bank is spending billions daily from the external reserves to support the currency.
Yet this has proved ineffective as the Naira continued it's downward fall. Yesterday the Naira exchanged for N200 to a dollar, a low not experienced for years. It's believed that the Naira would be devalued again for the second time to maintain stability.
However, FG had take steps to cushion the negative effects of the oil crash and political instability in the country.
The government, introducing austerity measures has decided to cut governance costs and also introduced tax on luxury goods.
FG is also responding to calls to diversify its economy through agriculture and other means. Last year, Nigeria raised an extra $600m from the non-oil sector, an amount which Godwin Emefiele, governor of the CBN has said would double this year.
Experts had predicted that tough times await Nigerians ahead with the current situation, but following the new developments it's believed that things are about to get worse.
#Nigeria #CBN #Minister
