By Peter OBIORA InvestAdvocate

Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday endorsed the austerity measures put in place by the Nigerian government to maintain stability in the economy following global falling oil prices.

Gene Leon, the IMF mission chief for Nigeria said: “In a combination of actions, most recently the communiqué after the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting of November 24-25, the authorities have announced a set of policies aimed at mitigating the impact of the recent significant fall in global oil prices on the economy.

These include: adjusting the exchange rate, resubmitting the Medium Term Expenditure Framework to the National Assembly with proposed tax and expenditure measures to achieve the deficit target consistent with a lower budget oil price and tightening monetary policy,” he said.

According to him the global financial institution supports the actions they view as complementary and moving in the right direction.

‘’We are supportive of and welcome these actions, which we view as complementary and moving in the right direction. Of course, the global situation remains fluid and the key issue is being ready to manage downside risks and for the authorities to be prepared, based on assessments of credible scenarios, to consider additional measures, as necessary,” Leone said.

The Nigerian authorities through the CBN recently increased benchmark interest rate to 13 percent from 12 percent; increasing it to 100 basis points.

Naira the Nigerian local currency has been moved to N160-N176 to the U.S. dollar, compared with N150-N160 previously.

Similarly, the nation is seeking to remove fuel subsidy and the nation’s parliament is also seeking to introduce new tax measures on luxury goods.