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Stable Economy: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala spoke from World Bank, IMF perspective – Prof. Tella

By Clifford Ejenavi Precisely, during a meeting with President Tinubu on August 14, 2025, the Director-General of the World Trade Organisations (WTO), Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, praised the administration for reforms that have contributed to economic stability. She stated, “You cannot really improve an economy unless it’s stable. So he has to be given the credit for…

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By Clifford Ejenavi

Precisely, during a meeting with President Tinubu on August 14, 2025, the Director-General of the World Trade Organisations (WTO), Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, praised the administration for reforms that have contributed to economic stability.

She stated, “You cannot really improve an economy unless it’s stable. So he has to be given the credit for the stability of the economy. So the reforms have been in the right direction.”

While calling for growth & social safety nets, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala emphasized that stability must be accompanied by economic growth and protection for those most affected by reforms.

“What is needed next is growth. We need to put in social safety nets so that people who are feeling the pinch of the reforms can also have some support. So then how do we grow the economy so we can create more jobs and put more money in people’s pockets?

Reacting to this development, a Professor of Economics and former Vice Chancellor, Crescent University, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Prof. Sheriffdeen Adewale Tella, said Dr. Okonjo-Iweala spoke from the point of World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) perspective and not reality on ground in Nigeria.

Prof. Tella noted that it depends on what Dr. Okonjo-Iweala was looking at, adding that she may be looking at the exchange rate. He stated further that the exchange rate has been around 1,500 and they also believe that the inflationary rate is coming down gradually although it is still very high.

“So, that is what she must be responding to as stabilization but for this type of economy it is still very high because the exchange rate was a devaluation. It is not reflecting the real market rate because we have started some level of production and then when that happens the exchange rate suppose to have improve beyond that but because it was devaluated so it will remain where it is.

“From the World Bank view, of course Ngozi-Nwela is also a World Bank woman, so they are looking at it from the fact that it has stabilized around 1500 but from where? They are not looking at it from where do we get to that level. We should be coming down so that we can have a better economy.

“She is not also looking at the interest rate, the interest rate has been very high and remain high even the last time they met, the high interest rate is part of the cause of production here. So she is not looking at that.

“They also believe that the international financial institutions, like the World Bank and IMF, they believe that what is important is to continue to give people money to buy food and that is giving them money instead of creating jobs. They are not creating jobs yet. If they are creating jobs it would have been better. Although the government is trying to create job by focusing on Medium and Small Scale Enterprises but that is still on the table, it is not as if we have started seeing anything from there. So, I think she is speaking from the point of view of the World Bank and IMF.

“They suggested devaluation of currency, they call it termunization, it was not just termunization it was also devaluation of the currency and they also look at the fact that the inflation rate is stabilizing at Twenty something not going up again. So it is that point of view that she was speaking but we who are here will know that things are not better off, for now,” he explained.

Advising the government on the way forward, Prof. Tella said, “The government has to make sure that they bring down prizes, they bring down prizes in terms of, they should look at the exchange rate again and let there be improvement coming down towards 1,000 not 1500 that they have put it.

“Secondly, the cost of energy is still very high. The prize of fuel is still very high because those are part of the things that cause this high prizes due to the fact that we moved from about 400 to 1,000 and now 900 they said it has stabilize. It is stabilizing around 800 or 900, from where? So, they have to bring that down, they also have to ask the monetary policy people to bring down the interest rate and that seems to be something that is being done around the World today.

“They are trying to bring down the interest rate so as to make credit available and affordable to investors who will be able to borrow money at cheaper rate and be able to bring down their own prizes. They have to bring down those factors that has caused the prizes to rise. These are exchange rate, interest rate as well as the cost of energy.”

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