By Mardiyyah Abubakar
The Federal Government says it will soon publish a detailed report showing how it used savings from the removal of fuel and foreign exchange subsidies.
Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, made the promise on Thursday at the 7th Africa Emerging Markets Forum in Abuja.
Oyedele said Nigerians had every right to ask where the subsidy savings went. He assured the public that the government would release a full breakdown within days.
He said the removal of fuel and foreign exchange subsidies had an impact equal to about five per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product.
“We owe Nigerians a duty to explain what we do. That is what transparency looks like,” Oyedele said.
The minister explained that the government introduced the reforms mainly to correct economic distortions, not simply to generate extra money.
He said the government used part of the funds to meet higher debt-servicing costs, implement the new ₦70,000 minimum wage and expand social programmes.
According to him, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund has provided tuition support and monthly stipends to more than 1.5 million students.
Oyedele also defended the government’s continued borrowing despite improved revenue.
He explained that a government may still need to borrow when its planned spending is higher than its income.
“If a government plans to spend 10 but expects to earn six, it must borrow four,” he said.
He added that borrowing remains useful when the returns are higher than the cost of the loans.
On poverty, Oyedele disagreed with claims that the reforms alone worsened living conditions.
He said the reforms corrected long-standing economic distortions and ended what he described as “fiscal illusions.”
The government is now working to turn economic stability into more jobs, higher productivity and improved living standards, he added.
Oyedele also said the Federal Government was developing a framework to reduce the cost of capital without introducing new subsidies.
The plan aims to support businesses and investments while complementing the Central Bank of Nigeria’s efforts to control inflation.
Meanwhile, the CBN’s Director of Statistics, Dr Okpanachi Moses, said food-price volatility continues to drive inflation across many Sub-Saharan African countries.
He said a new CBN study covering 36 countries found that food-price shocks and inflation often reinforce each other.
Moses noted that many households in the region spend between 40 and 60 per cent of their income on food. As a result, rising food prices quickly increase overall inflation.
He urged governments to invest in food systems and structural reforms, especially in countries affected by conflict.
According to him, stronger food systems may help control inflation more effectively than relying only on higher interest rates.
