With harsh economic realities hitting hard on Nigerians, the Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, disclosed on Wednesday that food inflation is reducing and the government will sustain it.
Edun stated this in a remark at the National Economic Dialogue with the theme ‘Nigeria’s Economic Future 25 Years of Democracy and Beyond’ organized by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, NESG, in Abuja.
He assured Nigerians of availability and affordable food prices, and he added that the private sector needs to drive the nation’s agricultural sector and not just government alone.
According to him, the Tinubu-led administration has provided a level playing field for youth, with different opportunities for them to thrive.
The coordinating minister added that the macroeconomic reforms, which “were necessary and overdue, and the fact that they had a cause, particularly in terms of inflation, it is not the poor and the most vulnerable that have to bear the brunt. It is the strongest in society, the richest, the most knowledgeable, and the most resourced in society that have to put heads together, dip their hands in their pockets, and make the extra effort.”
He said, “Government has its role to play, but the private sector clearly has an important role to play.
“Food inflation in particular, as we know it, has started coming down. Overall, inflation has started coming down, first of all, it slowed, and now at 33 per cent, it is one per cent lower than it was last month, and we are planning on maintaining that trajectory of downward inflation.
“Overall reduction in food inflation and more availability of food at affordable prices is the goal of the administration in the immediate term.”
He also recalled how, in December 2023, stakeholders in the agricultural sector were assured of a bumper harvest.
“But I remember last December, we met the whole of the agricultural value chain in Nasarawa: security, inputs, machinery people were there, and of course, the general farming community, and they said that the upcoming dry season harvest would be a successful one because they had everything it took to have a successful dry season harvest.
“That didn’t come to be; prices stayed high, and we are where we are today. But as I said, we are turning that around, and our capacity to deliver needs to be improved across the board.”
He also pointed out that “the China example is an interesting one, but overall, the thing you do when you do not succeed at first is keep trying, don’t just give up, or don’t even abandon the path you are on because, at the end of the day, if you keep on the path, normally nobody will plan a path that is not successful.
“So some may be quicker than others, or whatever path you take, if you have the determination that we need to persevere, you will get there.”
Meanwhile, he said Nigeria is a leader in finance and financial technology, pointing at the recent launch of what he described as “First US Dollar Domestic Bond Financing.”
“The target of the First US Dollar, or Foreign Currency Domestic Bond, to be issued in Nigeria and probably at least in the subcontinent, is another way to attract Nigerian savings abroad.
“The rights of people to their assets are protected. The rights of Nigerians to their funds that they have in Nigeria, whether it is Naira, Dollars, or Yen, are protected under the law,” he said.
However, he said, “We need to continue on the path of economic reform that we are on. As I said, this is not a day for laying out what is there for education, youth, agriculture, for industry, but as a Nigerian Economic Summit Group because they are our partners, there is an immediate short-term plan that deals with the major issues we have talked about, including high interest rates.”
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