The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called on the Nigerian government to scale up its cash transfers to help poor Nigerians manage the current cost of living crisis.
Axel Schimmelpfennig, IMF’s Assistant Director, African Department and Mission Chief to Nigeria, made this call at the briefing on Nigeria’s Article IV Consultation on Thursday.
He said: “On fiscal policy, we very much recognised the pain that many Nigerians are facing at the moment. Hence, our emphasis on scaling up the cash transfer programme. It can potentially reach up to 50 million recipients, and that is potentially benefit some 65 million Nigerians in need.”
The IMF also acknowledged the pain Nigerians are going through due to rising inflation and ongoing reforms.
Schimmelpfennig said: “There is a lot of pain for Nigerians right now, and our policy advice aims to provide support to those in need while reinvigorating growth and job creation.”
He noted: “We encourage that the cash transfer system and other support systems are implemented. We emphasise that it is very important to scale those up to help Nigerians manage the ongoing cost of living crisis.”
Schimmelpfennig further said that the Fund supports the Central Bank’s commitment to bringing down inflation, which hurts the poor disproportionally.
