Nigeria Can Save $5bn Annually – Finance Minister

Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun said
she can save as much as $5 billion
annually by cracking down on waste
in more than 450 government
agencies, a strategy that will
determine how well Nigerian
economy weathers its slowest growth
spell since 1999.
Adeosun, who took office in
November, offered an early glimpse
of how Africa’s top crude exporter
plans to navigate a crash in oil
prices that has beset petrostates
globally.
Nigeria’s government revenue has
fallen by about 60% from the height
of the oil boom more than a year
ago, she said.
To compensate for those lost funds,
the London-born former accountant
and investment banker said she
would scrutinize the prices
government agencies pay for plane
tickets, office supplies and other
items.
Next year’s budget will also include
caps on increases to government
workers’ salaries, she said.
“We’re trying to rein everybody in,”
Ms. Adeosun, 48 years old, said from
behind the desk vacated in May by
her predecessor, Ngozi Okonjo-
Iweala. “I don’t expect anybody to
like it, but I also expect people to
understand that where we find
ourselves, there’s no choice.”
Ms. Adeosun was finance
commissioner for Ogun State before
she was appointed minister.
Source: DailyTrust