IMPI rejects IMF, World Bank’s 3% economic growth forecast, says Nigeria prospects stronger

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By KEMI KAYODE

The Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI) has questioned the rationale by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for downgrading its economic growth projection for Nigeria in 2025 from 3.2 percent to 3.0 percent on the back of the global oil slump.

This according to the think tank is because the Nigerian economy has not, of late, been solely about oil especially with the substantial growth in the country’s non-oil export year-on-year as a result of ongoing economic diversification and the impact of government policies.

In a policy statement signed by its Chairman Dr Omoniyi Akinsiju, IMPI argued that it was more favourably disposed to the 7 percent growth forecast by Minister of Finance and Coordinating minister of the Economy Wale Edun.

It said, “In its economic outlook, the IMF downgraded Nigeria’s economic growth forecast for 2025 by 0.2 percentage points to 3.0 per cent, down from 3.2 per cent, while growth for 2026 was also revised downward by 0.3 percentage points to 2.7 per cent.

“The IMF justified this forecast by citing projected lower global oil prices as a significant risk to the country’s fiscal and external balances. We wonder how a single factor can be responsible for the projected massive decline in the size of an economy, moreso, when Nigeria is moving away from its dependency on crude oil earnings.

“However, the World Bank’s projection, on the other hand, offers a more optimistic view. In its report, the World Bank projected that Nigeria’s economy would grow by 3.6 per cent in 2025, building on an estimated 3.4 per cent expansion in 2024 and, thereafter, strengthening to 3.8 per cent by 2027.