Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, says that the Federal Government of Nigeria plans to publish indicators tracking poverty, incomes and inequality to assess the impact of the government’s economic reforms on the living standards of Nigerians.
Mr. Oyedele told the participants at the conference organised by BusinessDay newspaper in Lagos on Thursday that the move would address the criticism of the reform programme suggesting that gains in revenue, foreign exchange liquidity and investor confidence have yet to translate into meaningful relief for households facing high food, transport and living costs.
According to Oyedele the government will assess “shared prosperity” using three measures – reductions in multidimensional poverty, increases in real income per capita, and lower inequality.
He explained that the government is seeking to demonstrate that reforms introduced in 2023, including the scrapping a fuel subsidy and liberalising the naira, applauded by lenders and investors, are translating into broader gains for Nigerians after driving up inflation and living costs.
Oyedele said that inflation was easing, the foreign exchange market was functioning more efficiently and investor interest was returning.‘
He acknowledged that macroeconomic stability alone would not be enough, saying that “A stable economy can still be a stagnant one if we become complacent.”
Oyedele assured that the ministry of finance would be responsible for producing the scorecard, but did not provide a timeline for publishing the indicators or say how frequently they would be updated.
It will be recalled recalled that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in June that ‘the reforms were improving investor confidence and economic stability, 63% of the Nigerian populace remained in poverty and millions faced food insecurity.
“The measures have also been accompanied by criticism over persistent corruption and allegations of unbudgeted government spending, raising questions about whether the sacrifices demanded of citizens are being matched by fiscal discipline.”
GIK/APA