The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has blamed about N30 trillion in monetary financing for inflationary pressures affecting Nigerians, arguing that financial reforms launched by President Bola Tinubu’s administration helped avert a deeper disaster.
Mr Oyedele stated Nigeria may have skilled inflation of up to 1,000 per cent with out the reforms, together with the elimination of the petrol subsidy and modifications to the overseas change market.
“If this reform had not happened, ladies and gentlemen, today, you would be talking about inflation in a thousand per cent,” he stated on Tuesday in Abuja.
He spoke on the 56th Annual Accountants’ Conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, the place he defended the federal government’s financial insurance policies amid continued issues about the price of residing.
According to the minister, overseas change shortages, extreme monetary financing and the usage of future crude oil manufacturing to fund petrol subsidies had weakened the economic system earlier than the reforms.
“We printed plenty of naira. Plenty trillion naira was printed. The inflation we are dealing with today, the reason why your bread is more expensive, is the N30tn showing up,” he stated.
He argued that the inflationary results of extreme cash creation may take time to emerge, including that the federal government’s insurance policies had been supposed to handle longstanding weaknesses within the economic system.
He didn’t, nevertheless, present calculations to assist the 1,000 per cent inflation situation or clarify how the N30 trillion determine was calculated.
Cost of residing stays a priority
Mr Oyedele acknowledged the stress on households however stated the federal government was specializing in elevating incomes relatively than artificially suppressing costs.
“We’re putting all our effort towards how to raise the income of the Nigerian people faster than inflation,” he stated.
The remarks got here as Nigeria’s annual inflation fee continued to ease. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) confirmed that headline inflation fell to 14.63 per cent in September, from 15.39 per cent in August and 20.98 per cent in September 2025.
Annual meals inflation, nevertheless, edged up barely to 19.59 per cent in September from 19.57 per cent in August, exhibiting that meals costs remained a priority for households.
PREMIUM TIMES had reported that the minister had described the financial shocks following petrol subsidy elimination and overseas change reforms as unavoidable, arguing that the modifications had been supposed to appropriate longstanding distortions within the economic system.
The reforms, launched in 2023, contributed to greater petrol costs and elevated transport and logistics prices, including to the monetary stress on households and companies.
Mr Oyedele additionally disclosed that the Federal Government had spent twice the quantity saved from petrol subsidy elimination on wage changes and wage awards. He didn’t present the figures to assist the comparability.
He listed scholar loans, assist for weak households and subsidised credit score for small companies among the many interventions supposed to cushion the consequences of the reforms.
Cash transfers, public accounts
On issues about transparency in money transfers, Mr Oyedele stated the federal government had improved beneficiary identification by way of the National Identification Number system.
READ ALSO: Subsidy Return: International investors, markets have written off Nigerian opposition politicians as unserious, says Oyedele
He stated the World Bank had acknowledged progress in reaching weak households however rejected calls to publish beneficiaries’ private particulars, arguing that disclosure may undermine their dignity.
He additionally stated that the Federal Government had accomplished the audit of its 2022 monetary statements and pledged to deliver excellent accounts up to date by the primary quarter of 2027.
He added that subsequent audited accounts can be revealed inside six months of the tip of every monetary 12 months.
The minister additional introduced plans for a nationwide financial coverage framework to enhance session and coordination in authorities selections, including that the ministry of finance had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Central Bank of Nigeria to strengthen cooperation between the establishments.
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