The International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday explained that it reversed Nigeria’s growth protection due to low outputs from the agricultural and oil sectors.
The Fund’s Chief Economist, Pierre-Olivier Gounrinchas, disclosed this at the World Economic Outlook press briefing at the ongoing IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington DC, USA, this afternoon.
He attributed the poor production levels of both agriculture and oil to flooding and insecurity, respectively.
His words, “We reversed Nigeria’s growth by 2 per cent down because things are volatile.
“The reason for the reversal is precisely because of issues in agriculture due to flooding and there are issues about production of oil relative to security which pushed down oil production.”
The IMF cut now sees Nigeria’s economic growth projection slowing down to 2.9 per cent from the July 3.1 per cent.
In April, the IMF had earlier projected Nigeria’s growth to be 3.3 per cent in 2024 but lowered its forecast to 3.1 per cent in July. In July the fund cut the rate to 3.1 per cent, down from the 3.3% estimated in April.
