The World Bank Group (WBG) has identified a list of challenges that the incoming leadership of the Nigerian Federal Government must address in the immediate term. Speaking at a press briefing during the Spring Meetings of the Bretton Woods institutions in Washington D.C., WBG President David Malpass highlighted the need for economic growth to be prioritized, with a forecast growth rate of 2.8 per cent for the year. This is a drop from the bank’s earlier prediction of 2.9 per cent and a significant reduction from its estimates for 2022 at 3.3 per cent.
Malpass pointed out that a large chunk of Nigeria’s GDP comes from the oil sector, which is currently facing global difficulties. This has resulted in many people in Nigeria living in poverty, and the new leadership of the country must address this challenge directly. Insecurity in the northern regions is also a significant concern that must be tackled. Malpass stated that the WBG is working hard in Nigeria to develop an economic system that can be more productive.
Furthermore, Nigeria has trade protection that blocks market development, a dual exchange rate that is very expensive for its citizens, high inflation, and insufficient diversification of the economy. The WBG president emphasized the need to break through the debt overhang weighing on countries and structural blockages in developing countries to enable growth to go up faster than the advanced economies.
Malpass highlighted the importance of African economies, including Nigeria, doing well into the future, and the bank’s aspiration for countries to catch up with advanced economies in a period of years and decades.