IMF reveals Why Nigeria’s Economy will decline in 2016

Nigeria’s economy will not appreciate to an impressive level in 2016. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Nigeria’s economy is likely to shrink as it was performing below the IMF forecast for the country.

Gene Leon, IMF resident representative in Nigeria on Monday, said energy shortages and delayed budget weigh on output in the country.

With deflation of the economy by 0.4 percent in the first quarter of 2016, Leon predicted it will experience some growth in the second half of the year, but he added that it would not be enough to upturn initial shrinkage.

“I think there is a high likelihood that the year 2016 as a whole will be a contractionary year,” he was quoted by Bloomberg,

“While the economy should look better in the second half of the year, growth will probably not be sufficiently fast, sufficiently rapid to be able to negate the outcome of the first and second quarters”, he added.

On what must be done to improve Nigeria’s economy, Leon said “most people would agree that if you should fix one thing in this country, it should be power. There is a need to start changing the power equation from 2016, from today, not tomorrow or later.”

He added that the inflation, which is currently at 15.6 percent, may surge a little more in the months ahead but would not go beyond 20 percent before the end of 2016.