Action time for Nigeria's government
Nigeria’s government is pressing on with plans to liberalise key parts of the economy. The downstream is a priority
BY LOOSENING the state's grip on key levers, from the exchange rate to the oil industry, Muhammadu Buhari's administration wants to fire up Nigeria's economy. The economy shrank in real terms by 0.36% in the first quarter of 2016, as over-reliance on oil bit hard. The outlook is slightly better - the African Development Bank forecasts GDP for the year could grow by 3.8% - but neighbours Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Senegal are all doing better. The gravity of the situation has prompted a search for sweeping remedies. State firm Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said in late June that it had signed provisional agreements worth some $80bn with more than 30 Chinese firms to upgrade
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