The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called on the Nigerian government on the imperativeness of broadening its tax revenue base and curbing tax evasion in furtherance of its current fiscal reforms aimed at strengthening the country’s economic resilience.
IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, who gave these charges to the Federal Government at a news conference in Washington, D.C., on the sidelines of the 2025 IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings, emphasized the urgency for Nigeria and other African economies to enhance domestic revenue mobilisation, adopt technology-driven solutions in tax administration, and plug leakages in their public finance systems.
She maintained that the continuous decline in global oil prices had imposed significant fiscal pressure on the budgets of oil-exporting nations such as Nigeria, thereby underscoring the need to reduce overdependence on oil revenue.
Georgieva said: “Countries like Nigeria must broaden their tax revenue base. It is essential not just for short-term budget support, but for building long-term economic resilience.”
According to the IMF boss, African governments should leverage digital tools to reduce tax evasion and improve compliance as “technology offers tremendous opportunities to strengthen revenue collection. When deployed effectively, it can reduce leakages, increase efficiency, and promote fairness.”
Speaking on monetary policy options for Nigeria and other African countries, Georgieva urged African central banks to base their reforms on domestic or local factors rather than replicatinf policies from other regions without considering their domestic realities.
She clarified: “We are no more in a place where you can look at the book of the Central Bank of the neighboring country and say, ‘Oh, they are doing this, I will do the same.’ You have to really assess domestic resource mobilisation, your inflationary pressures, and do the right thing for your country.”
In addition, the development finance expert advised the Nigerian government and other governments in Africa to focus on transparency, fight corruption, and prioritize sound economic governance, stressing that effective monetary and fiscal policies must be complementary to ensure sustainable growth across Africa.
On the issue of merchandize trade, Georgieva harped on the need for African nations to deepen intra-regional trade and eliminate obstacles that limit economic integration.
Citing the lessons from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to justify her points, the IMF boss charged African countries to improve collaborative frameworks that enhance regional supply chains and shared infrastructure.
She expatiated: “Sometimes there are infrastructure obstacles. The World Bank is working on reducing those infrastructure bottlenecks that impede growth and trade. If Africa can remove these hurdles, it can unlock massive economic opportunities.
“Africa has so much to offer the world. The continent’s youthful energy, combined with innovation and sound policy, can drive transformative growth”, Georgieva added.
She recommended that countries like Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya and Côte d’Ivoire should rev up efforts to build economic buffers and fiscal space, noting that these buffers are crucial for absorbing shocks from global economic downturns or commodity price volatility.
