Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele says Nigeria’s economic reforms offer lessons for African countries seeking sustainable growth, stronger regional trade and improved living standards.
Oyedele spoke on Wednesday at the Africa’s Golden Future Forum in Bangkok, Thailand, where he highlighted fuel subsidy removal, exchange-rate liberalisation and tax reform as key parts of Nigeria’s economic reform programme.
He said the order in which the reforms were introduced helped manage rising costs, adding that consistent communication, strong institutions and policy stability were important in maintaining public confidence.
The minister called on African countries to remove trade barriers, improve infrastructure and deepen regional integration to unlock the potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
He said Nigeria was developing an economic policy framework to better align trade, fiscal and monetary policies.
He also highlighted the National Single Window initiative, which is designed to simplify border procedures and improve trade efficiency.
Oyedele said the government’s social support measures included a cash transfer programme that had reached more than 10 million households and education support benefiting over 1.5 million students.
Meanwhile, African Development Bank President Sidi Ould Tah called for stronger implementation of economic policies across the continent, stressing the need for investment in infrastructure and electricity access.
Ould Tah said intra-African trade accounts for about 15 percent of the continent’s total trade, compared with between 40 and 60 percent in other regions.
He added that the bank directs more than 60 percent of its financing to infrastructure and has a regional funding mechanism that can cover up to 90 percent of eligible costs for projects involving more than two countries.
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