TheCable

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was one of the first institutions to forecast Nigeria’s recession.

IMF called on the country’s leadership to apply for a loan facility to avoid or sail out of recession, but this hand of fellowship has been consistently declined.

With recession breathing down our necks, oil prices fluctuating and foreign loans difficult to secure, Nigeria is limited to asset sale and IMF loan. Will we end up taking the latter?

Follow TheCable for the real time updates on Nigeria’s dealings at the World Bank/IMF annual meetings in Washington.

The country will be represented by Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance; Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); Udo Udoma, minister of budget and national planning; and notable civil society groups.

On Wednesday, October 5, 2016, Adeosun will join Mitsuhiro Furusawa, IMF deputy managing director; Anders Borg, chair, World Economic Forums’ Global Financial System Initiative; Jonathan Taylor, vice president, European Investment Bank, and a number of other discussants to jaw-jaw on better infrastructure in developing countries.

Later on Wednesday, Adeosun will also be speaking on making infrastructure rewarding across the world.

On Friday, the civil society forum will focus on ‘Civil Society and Development: Six Global Trends and Lessons from Nigeria’.

This discussion will be led by Omotola Oshifeso, president, Africa Middle East Progressive Initiative (AMEPI); Amy Ekdawi, regional programmes director, Bank Information Centre (BIC); and Adeosun.

Also on Wednesday, Sarah Alade, CBN deputy governor of economic policy, will join colleagues from select nations to tackle ‘Managing Global Financial Risks in Uncertain Times’.

On Thursday, Yasmin Belo-Osagie, co-Founder, She Leads Africa, will join Malado Kaba, minister of finance, Republic of Guinea; Ndimyake Mwakalyelye, journalist at Voice of America; Nemata Blyden,  professor at Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University; and Rahama Wright, CEO, Shea Yeleen, on ‘Women’s Leadership in Development in Africa’.

On Friday, Edetaen Ojo, director, Media Rights Agenda (Nigeria) will be discussing ‘The Role of the World Bank in Advancing Citizens’ Access to Information in the Context of the Bank’s Reforms’.

Ojo will be joined by Janmejay Singh, senior strategy and operations officer, World Bank; Toby McIntosh, editor, Freedom Info; and Deborah Wetzel, senior director, governance, World Bank.

Team DLVR from Nigeria, led by Emeka Nnodu, won the World Bank “ideas for action” competition and will be engaging in conversations on ‘Financing the Future of Development’ at the Bank.

Nnodu will be joined by team mates Simi Ogundowole and Udon Okoh; Tara Nathan, executive vice president, public private partnerships, MasterCard; Djordjija Petkoski, lecturer and senior fellow, Wharton Business School; Gabriela De La Garza, director, PepsiCo; and Nena Stoilkovic, vice president, global client services, International Finance Corporation.

Mayowa Tijani is in Washington to help you focus on what these global financial institutions have for the prosperity of Nigeria, Africa and the rest of the world.

Follow @thecableng, @oluwamayowaTJ, for up-to-the-minute updates on the World Bank/IMF 2016 annual meetings.