Deal or no deal, Emefiele says Brexit will have no adverse effect on Nigeria

Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says the intending exit of Britain from the European Union will not have an adverse effect on Nigeria.

Speaking on Sunday while briefing the Nigerian delegation at a press conference to close the spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, the governor said Britain is not one of Nigeria’s major trade partner

“Let me say that the Brexit thing is about immigration and also about trade opportunities,” he said.

“On trade, I would say that though Britain and Nigeria have a trade relationship but not as strong as what we have with China and the United States.

“For instance, China is Nigeria’s trading partner followed by the United States. And I had imagine that Britain comes quite low on the scale.

“So if you look at that, you would find that, in my view, there is not going to be any adverse consequences on Nigeria but we are reviewing it to see the implication, which I would expect would naturally be positive.”

During the course of the meetings, Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, had listed Brexit and trade tensions between the US and China as the major downside risks to the global economy.

In 2016, citizens of the United Kingdom had voted to leave the European Union; setting a March 29 deadline.

The deadline has now been extended till October 31.