Nigeria To Surpass IMF Growth Projection

A Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr Sarah Alade,  said yesterday that Nigeria would surpass the International Monetary Fund (IMF) growth projection of  7.4 per cent for it in 2014.
Alade, who is the Deputy Governor for Economic Policy, made the statement in Lagos yesterday at the presentation of the IMF 2013 Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Sahara Africa.
She said that the average projection for Sub-Sahara African countries was six per cent in 2014 due to strong investment demands.
Alade also said that inflation was expected to maintain its downward trend to less than six per cent by the end of 2014, declared that the goals could be achieved through prudent monetary management and the Federal Government’s transformation agenda as well as the growing non-oil sector of the economy.
She said that Nigeria had exceeded its peers in the region due to increased trading partners as well as being able to handle political and domestic constraints, adding that most investors coming into the country had taken advantage of the tight monetary measures put in place by the government.
She said that it was important that Nigeria must ensure that inflows into the country could assist and create short-term macro-economic stability.
Alade said that when such inflows got out of the system, they would create instability which could spill over to the short, medium and long terms financial instability.
She, however, said that government would ensure that some policies were put in place to manage the inflows to mitigate risk.
“Let me say that we will push growth beyond 7. 4 per cent depending on the structural transformation we are doing.
“If these reforms in power, agriculture and in all other sectors are concluded and successfully implemented on time, then we might see growth beyond 7.4 per cent, “Again, it depends on the timing,’’ she added.
The Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company, Mr Bismarck Rewane, said that economic managers had to be more proactive and active in terms of preparing for changes in future
Rewane said that there would be a lot of volatility in commodity prices, production as well as security issues during the election year.