President Bola Tinubu says his administration needs the support of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to ensure that out-of-school children are kept in classrooms.
In a statement shared on X on Thursday, Bayo Onanuga, special adviser on information and strategy to the president, said Tinubu made the remarks during a courtesy call with Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director of the IMF, on the sidelines of the G20 leaders summit on Wednesday.
Tinubu was said to have emphasised that education is a pathway out of hunger and poverty, disclosing that his government is working on plans to incentivise education for children.
“We have too many children out of school, and we know that education is a way out of hunger and poverty,” the statement reads.
“That is why we are designing ways and incentives to keep these children in school, and we need your support for these kids who want to stay in school.”
Tinubu assured that measures are being taken to reduce the hardship caused by recent reforms, noting that positive outcomes are already visible.
“We have started seeing positive results from our reforms, and the Nigerian people now understand the need for them, but we have to reduce the hardship that has resulted from the implementation,” he said.
Tinubu also asked the IMF to support the government’s reforms, particularly those involving taxation.
“We are engaging stakeholders and sensitising Nigerians to expand the economy’s tax base for inclusive developmental growth,” he said.
“We are doing this without necessarily increasing the taxes on our people who have already given a lot. We will require your support on this.”
Tinubu appreciated the IMF’s efforts and congratulated Georgieva on her re-election for a second term.
Onanuga said Georgieva praised Nigeria’s social investment programmes for “cushioning” the effects of economic challenges on vulnerable groups and promised that the IMF would assist in these efforts.
According to the statement, she said the IMF is focused on developing vulnerable societies and devoting substantial resources to emerging economies.
“The managing director expressed the Fund’s readiness to offer technical support for the budgeting process, adding that it will assist Nigeria in achieving the best possible results from loans,” the statement reads.
“Georgieva said the world had suffered some shocks from the pandemic that caused damage to world economies. Over the last two years, the IMF has injected about $1 trillion into the world economy.
“While the developed countries managed the shocks better, the developing nations did not do so.
“She said the IMF is working with developing countries to build resilient institutions to better manage future global economic shocks.
“She stressed that it is the right of every country to benefit from the Fund after a critical analysis of its priorities.”
The statement said Georgieva also informed Tinubu that the IMF’s executive board had approved the third chair for sub-Saharan Africa to strengthen the region’s representation while congratulating Nigeria for hosting the IMF’s African caucus meeting in Abuja in August.
