.Says reversal risks investor flight
COMFORT EKELEME, Business Editor, Bangkok
Despite the rising fuel prices and calls for policy changes, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said on Saturday said the federal government will not restore petrol subsidy or return to a multiple exchange rate system.
Oyedele spoke at a press briefing on the sidelines of the 2026 International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, Thailand.
According to him, the government had no plans to reverse the economic reforms introduced under President Bola Tinubu.
He said the position had been made clear during engagements with investors, credit rating agencies and multilateral institutions.
“The Islamic Development Bank and other multilateral institutions also indicated readiness to expand sustainable financing, while the United States Treasury offered deeper technical cooperation in fiscal policy, administration and financial integrity,” he said.
Oyedele said the European Union had identified energy and local pharmaceutical manufacturing as priority areas for collaboration under its Global Gateway programme.
Oyedele argued that reversing the reforms would undermine the progress made in stabilising the economy and could weaken investor confidence.
He said, the government was exploring measures to ease the effects of higher energy costs without reinstating a blanket subsidy.
“Let me be clear, there will be no return to fuel subsidies or multiple exchange rates,” the minister said.
“The recent 30-day retail margin discount is a time-bound commercial decision by the NNPC to reduce margins and support Nigerians. It is not a subsidy paid from public funds,”he said.
Oyedele said Nigeria is targeting 7 per cent economic growth, arguing that projections by the IMF have been too conservative.
The IMF had projected Nigeria’s economic growth at 4.2 per cent in 2026 and 4.3 per cent in 2027.
The Minister said Nigeria had the potential to grow faster than current forecasts suggest, provided the government sustains its economic reforms and tackles constraints affecting businesses and households.
Oyedele said bringing inflation down, reducing financing costs and addressing pressures from food, energy and logistics would be critical to achieving stronger growth.
He said Nigeria’s economic strategy was aimed at creating a more stable environment for investment and expanding productive activity.
The minister also pointed to improvements in key economic indicators, including easing inflation and stronger external reserves, as signs of progress under the ongoing reforms.
However, he said the country needed to maintain the reform momentum and translate macroeconomic improvements into stronger economic activity and better living standards.
Oyedele further said Nigeria must prioritise investments that create jobs as Artificial lntelligence (AI) threatens to widen the gap between economic growth and employment.
The minister added that government could not measure economic progress by growth figures alone, stressing the need to ensure that investment and technological advances translate into decent jobs.
Citing estimates discussed during the meetings, Oyedele said about 1.2 billion young people would enter the global labour market over the next 10 to 15 years, while only about 400 million jobs were projected to be created.
The figures point to a significant employment challenge, particularly for developing economies with large and growing young populations.
Oyedele warned that artificial intelligence could fuel economic expansion without generating enough jobs to absorb new entrants into the labour market.
He said Nigeria must respond by investing in skills development at scale and attracting capital into sectors capable of creating substantial employment.
The minister also called for policies that would ensure the benefits of AI are shared fairly, including arrangements that allow African countries to use their data and technological capabilities to develop domestic expertise.
Oyedele also said the success of multilateral development institutions should be judged not only by the financing they provide or the growth they support, but also by the jobs their interventions.
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