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Europe Economic Shock: Nigeria may be on the receiving end – IMF Chief

By on December 20, 2011
Managing Director of International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde yesterday warned the Federal Government that Nigeria may be on the receiving end of the economic shock from Europe because of the volume of her trade all over the world.

Lagarde who visited the Senate President David Mark in company of Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Lamido Sanusi also asked developing nations to put safe guard measures in place to absolve the shock from the economic crisis in Europe.

Lagarde who was France’s Minister of Finance said she is impressed with the reforms and transformation agenda of the present administration and urged the legislature to cooperate with the executive arm of government to make it work.

Nigeria, according to her is the first African country to be visited in her tour of the continent since she assumed office as the managing director of IMF.

In his response, Mark implored the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to make their economic and financial policies friendly to Africa because a policy that does not work for a supposed beneficiary is unnecessary.

Senator Mark told the visiting managing Director of IMF, Lagarde that any economic policy that brings pains rather than succour to the people is worthless.

He said: “The impression people have about IMF is that of an organisation that prescribes an economic solution that hardly works or practicable in any country.

“It is a challenge for the IMF to disabuse our minds by making its economic policies practicable. The policies could be laudable but it sometimes does not fit into local arrangements.

“You must take cognisance of local situations in your prescriptions because a uniform policy may not work for all nations; condition of respective nations is imperative because a template may out work for all countries”.

Mark also told his guests which included that the European countries should make their markets accessible to Africans.

“Our markets are accessible to you but yours (Europe) are not accessible to us. This imbalance of trade is not good; you should make effort to give us some levels of accessibility to your markets,” Mark requested.

He also asked the IMF to put necessary measures in place to ameliorate the shock on the nation’s economy resulting from the crisis in the European economy.

Mark was pleased to note that IMF was interested in the reforms and transformation programme of Nigeria and assured that the legislature would partner with the executive arm of government to make it work.

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