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| IMF Boss Christine Lagrade and President Buhari at Abuja, Tuesday. |
President Muhammadu Buhari has said the government will
look inwards to overcome its economic challenges. He also said his
administration intends to enforce regulations to stop financial leakages to
mitigate the effect of dwindling oil prices on the Nigerian economy.
He made this disclosure when he received the Managing
Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms Christine Lagarde. Buhari
said that his administration would adopt global best practices in generating
more revenue, and also enforce greater discipline, probity and accountability
in all revenue generating agencies of the Federal Government.
He said the 2016 budget was drafted after taking into
consideration the many needs of the country and the downturn of the economy
with falling oil prices and the negative economic forecasts. He said the
government was going to use the budget as a tool to guide the nation forward
and stated his commitment to do his best to ensure the nation survived the
current economic crunch.
“We have also told all heads of Ministries, Departments
and Agencies (MDAs) of government that are on our watch, they will fully
account for all funds that get into their coffers,’’ President Buhari added.
The president further stated that the federal government
was reviewing its operational costs and all the MDAs had been directed to cut
down on their overhead costs. He told the IMF chief that the federal government
would welcome the technical support and expertise of the IMF for its plans to
diversify the Nigerian economy and further unleash its growth potentials.
Ms. Lagarde, in her remarks, said that the IMF would be
willing to assist the federal government in plugging revenue leakages, tracing
stolen funds and restructuring its tax system. She then declared that Nigeria
had the potential to overcome the current economic challenge of falling
commodity prices without asking the IMF for financial support.
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