World Bank Backs IMF On Poverty Rate In Nigeria

[Edoman]

The World Bank says unemployment and poverty rates increased in Nigeria despite an exit from recession in 2017.

The apex global financial institution made these remarks in a report made available to newsmen Thursday.

According to the report titled, “Nigeria Bi-annual Economic Update: Fragile Recovery,” policymakers at the federal and the state levels need to identify interventions that are best suited to realise development potential of sub-national regions and integrate domestic markets.

It said: “The decline in the non-oil and non-agriculture sectors, however, continued as aggregate demand remained weak and private sector credit low.

“The rates of unemployment and underemployment increased in 2017 and poverty is estimated to have increased slightly. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in 2018 is expected to hover just over 2 per cent, largely oil sector-driven.

“Nigeria has a big home market, which is constrained by limited connective infrastructure, thereby reducing producers and firms’ ability to reach wider markets.

“Policymakers may want to focus on investments that reinforce clusters and economies of scale and optimise the connectivity between rural areas and the major urban markets.

“Policy makers must also address structural and land management issues in major urban nodes and along major growth corridors to remove or alleviate barriers that undermine the growth potential.”

DAILY POST reports that in March, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the country needed urgent and coherent policies because Nigerians were getting poorer. 

Source: http://dailypost.ng/2018/05/03/world-ban...e-nigeria/