Nigeria's local and foreign currency sovereign ratings were downgraded to B+, four notches below investment grade, last Friday by Standard & Poor's, one of the big three rating agencies.

The foreign currency rating was downgraded one notch from BB- and the naira rating two notches from BB.

Standard & Poor's said the decision "reflects our view of the government's reduced fiscal flexibility due to costs associated with its recent bailout of five large domestic banks and also the fall-off in