Fitch Ratings has affirmed Nigeria’s long-term foreign-currency issuer default outlook at ‘B-‘ with a stable outlook, listing the country’s major strengths as large economy, developed and liquid domestic debt market, and large oil and gas reserves.
The affirmation by the global rating agency came as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, reiterated his determination to change the story of the apex bank and make its policies more impactful on Nigerians. Cardoso gave the assurance while playing host to former CBN governor, Mr. Muhammadu Sanusi II.
Sanusi emphasised the critical role of the central bank and its enormous impact on the lives of citizens.
However, Fitch stated that the rating was constrained by weak governance, structurally very low non-oil revenue, high hydrocarbon dependence, security challenges, high inflation, low net foreign exchange (FX) reserves, and ongoing weakness in the exchange-rate framework.
Full story at Thisday Live,
By Emmanuel Addeh and James Emejo.