Prof. Kingsley Moghalu Comments in The Wall Street Journal

“Nigeria’s Finance Minister Takes Aim at Government Spending” by Drew Hinshaw

The country’s new finance minister 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 Africa’s largest economy weathers its slowest growth spell since 1999.

Kemi 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…

…“There is no doubt that will bring in significant savings,” said Kingsley Moghalu, former deputy central bank governor and a professor of international business at Boston’s Tufts University. “But that in itself isn’t enough. You need some additional finance.”

Read the full article featuring Prof. Moghaul in the Wall Street Journal