BY  NGOZI ONYEAKUSI

Nigeria’s economic reforms must be sustained through consistent policies, strong institutions, clear communication and social support programmes to cushion the impact on vulnerable citizens, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, has said.
Oyedele stated this while speaking on Nigeria’s reforms at the Africa Global Future event during the ongoing 2026 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

He stressed that policy consistency was essential to building investor confidence, noting that investors needed to trust government policies and be able to predict the direction of economic decisions before committing their capital.
“Capital follows trust before it follows returns. They need to be able to plan and predict what you are going to do,” he said.

The minister explained that successful reforms required careful planning, scenario analysis, clear communication and proper sequencing, adding that governments must anticipate potential challenges and establish strategies to address them.

According to him, reforms should begin with correcting economic distortions, followed by stabilisation and expansion, while ensuring that the process becomes sustainable through legislation and strong institutions.

Oyedele noted that Nigeria had embedded several of its reforms in laws and institutions to ensure continuity beyond individual administrations.
He, however, acknowledged that reforms could impose significant hardship on citizens, particularly in countries where many people live in poverty and have limited access to education.

He said governments must provide adequate social protection to enable vulnerable households to cope with immediate economic pressures while waiting for the long-term benefits of reforms.

The minister disclosed that Nigeria had reached more than 10 million households through its cash transfer programme, while over 1.5 million students had benefited from educational support designed to help them remain in school and ease the financial burden on their parents and guardians.

Oyedele emphasised the importance of explaining the consequences of maintaining the status quo alongside the immediate costs of reforms, saying citizens needed to understand what could happen if necessary economic adjustments were not implemented.

He added that sustained communication was essential to building public trust, even when citizens did not immediately accept the government’s explanations.
On regional trade, the minister said Nigeria was developing an economic policy framework to improve coordination among its trade, fiscal and monetary policies and strengthen its engagement with other African countries.

He warned that poorly coordinated policies could undermine economic objectives and create additional costs for citizens.

According to him, the framework would guide decisions on issues such as tariff protection, including the duration of protective measures and strategies for gradually removing them.

He cautioned that poorly managed protectionist policies could force citizens to bear the cost of domestic inefficiencies through higher taxes and prices.

Oyedele identified the National Single Window initiative as part of Nigeria’s efforts to simplify border procedures through technology and improve the efficiency of trade processes.

He also highlighted the need for investment in energy, logistics, ports, agro-processing and storage infrastructure, alongside human capital development, to support economic growth and regional integration.

The minister said Nigeria must address barriers to movement across African countries, including visa restrictions, to facilitate trade, investment and economic cooperation.

He maintained that although Nigeria had a large domestic market, the wider African market offered greater opportunities for growth, stressing that the country must lead by example by adopting policies that promote mutually beneficial outcomes.

Oyedele said Nigeria’s reform experience demonstrated that difficult economic changes could be implemented successfully when governments combined policy consistency, institutional sustainability and appropriate support for vulnerable citizens.

“If it was possible in Nigeria, it’s possible elsewhere,” he said.
Tighten this into Supernews house style
Lead with the cash transfer figure
Improve the headline for stronger impact