With Nigeria’s fuel subsidy payout averaging N500 billion monthly, total expenditure on subsidy could hit a record N6 trillion mark by year-end, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned yesterday.
The multilateral lender also revealed that a macro-fiscal stress test it conducted on the country showed that interest payments on debts in the country could amount to Nigeria using 100 per cent of its revenue to service debts by 2026 if not closely monitored.
IMF’s Resident Representative for Nigeria, Mr. Ari Aisen made these disclosures while presenting the latest Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Economic Outlook, in Abuja.
The IMF chief expressed worry that many African countries, including Nigeria risk sliding into critical debt servicing problem unless urgent actions were explored to significantly raise revenue.
