International Monetary Fund (IMP) Managing Director Michel Camdessus arrived in Nigeria yesterday for three days of talks on debt relief and reforms. From the airport he went directly for discussions with Finance Minister Ismaila Usman, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the planning minister.
‘The Guardian’ newspaper of Lagos today (Thursday) reported Camdessus as saying that his aim was to get first-hand knowledge and an error-proof opinion of Nigeria’s problems and its appeal for debt relief. Since coming to power in June 1998, military ruler General Abdulsalami Abubakar has pleaded for the rescheduling of the country’s US $30 million debt.
Finance Minister Usman said the government regarded Camdessus’s visit “as a confirmation of international concern for Nigeria”.
In January, Abuja accepted that the IMF should monitor the country’s political and economic reforms, marking a resumption of relations.
Ties between Nigeria and the IMF had been broken by the late General Sani Abacha.
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