President Muhammadu Buhari says his administration will look inwards and enforce regulations to stop financial leakages in order to overcome the current economic challenges facing Nigeria.
The President said this while receiving the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms Christine Lagarde, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
He said his government would adopt global best practices in generating more revenue to mitigate the effect of dwindling oil prices on the Nigerian economy. President Buhari added that his administration would implement greater discipline, probity and accountability in all revenue generating agencies of the Federal Government.
"We have just come out of budget discussions after many weeks of taking into consideration, the many needs of the country and the downturn of the economy with falling oil prices and the negative economic forecasts. We are working very hard and with the budget as our way forward, we will do our best to ensure that our country survives the current economic downturn.“We have also told all heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government that on our watch, they will fully account for all funds that get into their coffers,” President Buhari told Ms Lagarde.
The President revealed that the Federal Government was reviewing its operational costs and had directed all the MDAs to cut down on their overhead costs. He said that the government would welcome the technical support and expertise of the IMF for its plans to diversify the Nigerian economy and further unleash its growth potentials.
In her remarks, Ms Lagarde said that the IMF would be willing to assist the Federal Government in plugging revenue leakages, tracing stolen funds and restructuring its tax system.
She said that Nigeria has all the potentials to overcome the current economic challenge of falling commodity prices without resorting to the IMF for financial support.
Mrs. Largade twitted on her twitter handle that Nigeria is the 1st country she is coming to in the year 2016.
She said " Productive 1st day in Nigeria topped off by meeting with dynamic women leaders. Impressed by their commitment to change.
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