Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- [The governmemt of former general Olesegun Obasanjo - former, in that, like the West's other asset, Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, he's suddenly exchanged his military uniform for a pinstripe suit - is caught in the currrently standard Western pincer movement: While being pressured to increase his country's military spending, and last year's high-level state visits by President Clinton, Defense Secretary Cohen and Secretary of State Albright had exactly that as their purpose; and as Nigeria has been appointed by Washington and London to perform the duties of a regional policeman in relation to Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau and beyond; nevertheless it's being reproached by the dominant Western lending institutions for excessive public spending. Earlier this year a leading Nigerian general - to prove that honor isn't dead in the New Order - resigned in defiance of this disgraceful subordination of his country and people to NATO diktat, saying: "Yesterday's friends can prove to be tomorrow's worst enemies." A message that bears repeated - and repeated - mention throughout the world.] Tuesday August 7, 11:03 PM Nigerian officials stay mum after IMF warning on spending ABUJA, Aug 7 (AFP) - Senior Nigerian government officials huddled here to consider their response Tuesday after a sharply-worded warning from the International Monetary Fund to cut runaway government spending. Macro-economic adviser Festus Osunsade told AFP he could not comment on the IMF report issued on Monday, saying simply the matter was being discussed. Mai Adamu Mustapha, special assistant to Finance Minister Adamu Ciroma, said he was "too busy" to talk, before heading into a meeting on the issue. A formal response from the government was expected later this week, officials said. In its report, issued in Washington, the IMF said Nigeria must urgently rein in government spending in order to check rising inflation, running at 23 percent in June. Spending on non-productive areas, particularly on imports and high profile projects like a satellite programme and a major new sports stadium for the capital, was doing nothing for the economy, they said. Instead, government actions were hiking inflation, with food prices rising particularly fast, hurting most the countries' poorest people. After receiving a critical report from a staff team that visited Nigeria, IMF directors said that they were extremely concerned about the country's economic management. "Executive directors observed that macroeconomic imbalances had emerged as a result of the sharp increase in government spending -- particularly that of state and local governments -- and expressed concern at the risks of a further acceleration of inflation and continuing instability in the foreign exchange market," they said in their statement. Nigeria had failed to bring its economic programme back on track with targets agreed with the IMF last year in return for a one-billion-dollar, one-year standby credit arrangement, IMF staff said. Besides spending, targets missed included the sale of key government assets, the removal of subsidies to the distorted fuel sector and market liberalisation. The IMF executive board said its staff had recommended extending assistance until February 2002 but only if Nigeria came back on track with a series of measures including deep spending cuts. Two years into a new civilian government, government spending has leapt in Nigeria despite repeated commitments from President Olusegun Obasanjo to ensure strict economic management. Obasanjo is one of the main backers of the South African-inspired African Initiative for economic renewal of the continent. But last year, fuelled partly by increasing oil earnings, money supply jumped by 43 percent and rose by 27 percent in the first five months of this year, against a target for the whole year of 12.5 percent, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). In a bold move, the CBN has itself been increasingly critical of government spending levels and last month introduced strict new rules for the banking sector aimed at limiting the access of state and local governments to new cash. But the response of the state governments has been dismissive. Earlier this month, the government of Nigeria's commercial capital, Lagos, announced it was seeking a first 11 billion naira (98 million dollars) in extra funding the capital markets, out of a total of 25 billion it would be seeking this year. Ahead of state and national elections due in 2003, the state and federal administrations are all increasing their spending. The third layer of government, the local governments, is up for re-election next year and is also increasing its spending. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! 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