Beware Of IMF Visit, Ibrahim Warns Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has been warned to be wary of the current visit of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to Nigeria.

This warning came from Jimoh Ibrahim, the group managing director of Energy Group, Vanguard reports.

President Muhammadu Buhari receiving IMF Managing Director, Christine Lagarde in Abuja.

Ibrahim said the visit of Christine Lagarde, the IMF’s managing director, is a means of campaigning for economic conditionalities, adding that her visit was an economic bait that will do Nigeria no good.

He accused the IMF of having a hidden agenda which only time will tell.

Ibrahim said: “I enjoin President Buhari to learn from Ibrahim Badamosi Babagida’s pitfall when he handed over the economy to IMF by taking specific loan only for the economy to be destroyed with IMF’s painful colonial conditionalities. The government of IBB was simply put to an end in economic terms by the Structural Adjustment Programme, an IMF baby which remains the foundation of Nigeria’s problem.

“For IMF to advise Nigeria not to be rigid in Economy Policy is an indirect way of asking for devaluation of naira and campaigning for ‘about to come’ IMF conditionalities, knowing very well that Nigeria may ask for assistance.”

He noted that the IMF boss did not say anything new saying ten things are likely to be the areas of advice of IMF which is already a stereotype.

“They are usually Fiscal Policy, Reduction of Public Spending, Tax Reform, Interest Rate, Competitive Exchange Rate, Trade Liberalization, Encouragement of Foreign Direct Investment, Privatization of state enterprise, deregulation and legal security of property right.

“These ten-point agenda is not new to Nigeria. But the question we normally ask is whose interest? The optimum bias is playing clearly in her statement,” he stated.

According to him, Lagarde’s statement on the economy is traditional and full of strategic misrepresentation, advising the government to run away from such unsolicited advice.

He accused the IMF boss of strategic misrepresentation when she said oil does not contribute enormously to the GDP, knowing very well that the Nigeria budget is funded majorly through revenue from oil.

Ibrahim challenged the IMF to come with practical terms on how to help Nigeria solve its financial crisis by granting the country loans in liberal terms when the need arises or even if it is to develop infrastructure since Nigeria oil money has been used by IMF in the past to help other nations.

Lagarde arrived Nigeria on Monday and she held talks with President Buhari the next day. She had said contrary to widespread perception,she was not in Nigeria to negotiate a loan for the country. According to her, she discussed with Buhari on how Nigeria could face the challenges associated with global economic meltdown.

She met with members of the Nigerian Senate on Wednesday in Abuja. During her meeting with the Senate president, Bukola Saraki, she urged Nigeria to target the poor in its expenditure, especially fuel subsidy spending.