World Bank ranks Nigeria as One of the Top Most Improved Economies

In the World Bank’s latest “Doing Business” report, Nigeria was seen to have moved up 24 places to 145th and recognized the country as one of the top 10 most improved economies in the world.
The country has witnessed coordinated efforts across various levels of governments to make it easier to do business in Nigeria. The report endorsed the direction that government has been taking to improve the ease of doing business in Nigeria over the last 12 to 18 months.The World Bank highlighted five reforms making it easier to do business in Kano and Lagos, the two cities covered by the report in Nigeria over the course of last year. They include Starting a Business; Dealing with Construction Permits; Registering Property; Getting Credit, and Paying Taxes.NIGERIA UNVEILS ITS MTEF & FISCAL STRATEGY PAPER 2018 – 2020

The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) has released the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) for fiscal years 2018 to 2020. The MTEF/FSP, issued pursuant to the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, documents FGN’s economic agenda, fiscal policies and strategies, as well as projected revenue and expenditures over the three-year period. These set the tone for FGN’s 2018 to 2020 budgets which are expected to be prepared in line with the agenda, policies and strategies described in the MTEF/FSP.

The document highlights FGN’s plans for achieving its defined objectives which include a 7% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth by 2020, in alignment with goals set out in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP). Some of the fiscal strategies the FGN intends to pursue to achieve these objectives include: broadening revenue receipts by identifying and plugging revenue leakages; improving efficiency and quality of capital spending with greater emphasis on critical infrastructure; rationalizing recurrent expenditure; and gradually consolidating fiscal measures to maintain the fiscal deficit at below 3% of GDP

The MTEF/FSP demonstrates FGN’s efforts towards multi-year budgeting with a view to appropriately balancing the allocation of public resources among competing needs on a rolling basis over the medium term.