Neoliberal Conditionality and IMF-Nigeria Relations: A Critical Political Economy Analysis

This study provides a critical political economy analysis of the relationship between Nigeria and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), examining how IMF conditionality attached to programme lending and Article IV consultations has shaped Nigerian economic policy and its foreign policy implications. Nigeria has a complex and at times contentious relationship with the IMF, having undergone structural adjustment in the 1980s and maintained periodic programme relationships since, most recently engaging with IMF advice on subsidy removal and foreign exchange policy reform under the Tinubu administration. Drawing on critical IPE theory and the concept of disciplinary neoliberalism, this research examines the content and implementation of IMF conditionality requirements directed at Nigeria from 2019 to 2024, assessing their relationship to domestic policy outcomes and their effects on Nigeria's sovereign autonomy in economic decision-making. The study employs a qualitative methodology, drawing on IMF country reports, Article IV consultations, National Economic Council records, and expert interviews with Nigerian economists and civil society policy analysts. Findings are expected to show that IMF influence on Nigeria is substantial but operates through persuasion and conditionality rather than direct coercion, with Nigerian policymakers selectively adopting IMF prescriptions based on domestic political feasibility. The study contributes to the critical IPE literature on IFI-Africa relations. Keywords: IMF, conditionality, Nigeria, neoliberalism, political economy.