The president of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, has praised President Bola Tinubu for his audacious decision to remove fuel subsidy in order to prevent an unmanageable fiscal deficit.
The head of the World Financial Organization praised Tinubu’s resolve to tackle Nigeria’s problems and dedication to stability and economic growth.
He expressed certainty that Tinubu’s initiatives would put Nigeria on the road to prosperity and establish it as an African powerhouse.
These were expressed by Banga in a chat with State House correspondents following a meeting with Tinubu on Friday in Abuja.
He said that in addition to financial assistance, the World Bank will provide regulatory and fiscal policies knowledge and advice to Nigeria.
He said: “Basically, we had a very constructive discussion, not just with the president but also a number of his advisers and we talked about what was in his mind as priorities.
“I commended him for a lot of the things he’s doing early in his term, to ease macro-fiscal reforms and stability are very important. He’s very determined to do the right thing.
“I think you will find the World Bank supporting everything, not just financial aid, but also with knowledge and thinking around how to create the right regulatory policies and fiscal policies. So we had a very good discussion. It ended very well.
“The fact is, he’s doing things that Nigeria needs to be able to do to correct its situation.
“On fuel subsidy, you have a fiscal deficit that remains unsustainable. So, he’s trying to do all the right things. Now, the question is, how do you navigate through the next few months, where you can send the economy on the right parts of the future?
“As I discussed, Nigeria has to be an African champion. If Nigeria becomes an African champion, then we know that the African continent has a country with the largest gross domestic product (GDP) headed in the right direction. That’s his vision and that was the vision we shared.”
Ada Peter
