General
Nigeria and indeed other African countries should not take programmes and policies given to them by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, Coordinating minister of the economy and Finance Minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has said.
Speaking at a meeting with members of the House of Representatives committee on Finance at the National Assembly complex yesterday, Mrs. Iweala said it was wrong for Nigeria to take IMF and World Bank policies hook line and sinker.
“We should come up with our plans and not take whatever they give us. I am not regretting been there because I learned a lot while I was there…if you don’t come up with your plans they will give you theirs. Nobody is controlling our economy. We are in charge here and no one can come and dictate to us. It is those who are lazy that depend on them,” Dr. Iweala said.
The finance minister further disclosed that President Goodluck Jonathan has directed that all Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to remit their internally generated revenue to the federation account.
She said the government was targeting to get additional N200 billion from the agencies.
“Our expenditure pattern has been very volatile and unsteady. This is not healthy at all. We want to cut recurrent expenditure and restrict it to below 70% of annual budget. That is the reason we have equally been waging war against ghost workers and ghost pensioners’ syndrome,” she added.
Dr. Iweala resigned as Managing Director of the World Bank in August this year for the second time to become minister having done so in 2003 under the former president Olusegun Obasanjo.
