Nigeria has this past week indicated its gradual departure from over-dependence on oil sales in a new plan that banks on five major sectors of the economy. According to the new five-year economic plan released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the country aims to reduce the debt burden, control inflation and raise the employment rate for youth. It reiterates earlier sector-based plans that included a ban on the importation of 43 items to reduce the depletion of foreign reserves of $36.57 billion, which can only sustain importation of essential goods for nine months. The plan has also retained the exchange rate of N420 to the dollar to reduce the impact of the erratic exchange rate on the economy and stabilise the external debt. As Africa’s biggest old producer, Nigerian officials say the commodity limits the economy, because of reliance on the changing global oil prices. In the […]