Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, this Monday met with the President of the World Bank Group, Ajay Banga, as the Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank Group begin in Bangkok, Thailand.
Oyedele is leading Nigeria’s delegation and is being supported by the Governor of the CBN.
The meeting according to authorities reviewed Nigeria’s reform progress and the next phase of its agenda: turning macroeconomic stability into faster growth, more private investment and stronger domestic revenues.
Banga commended the progress of Nigeria’s reforms, pointing to the rise in private capital inflows from about $300 million in 2023 to nearly $6 billion in 2026— a twentyfold increase.
Minister Oyedele in his submission highlighted the rising economic growth and noted that Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio rose from about 7 per cent to 12.5 per cent over the same period. He said this gives the government more room to fund public investment without resorting to deficit monetisation.
The meeting discussed how Nigeria can make greater use of World Bank guarantee instruments to unlock financing for infrastructure and draw more private capital into the domestic market.
Power infrastructure and human capital were identified as priorities for continued public investment, given their importance to business competitiveness, productivity and job creation.
The meeting also stressed the importance of quality public expenditure, to ensure funds expended deliver measurable economic and social returns.
Efe Ovuakporie, Head of Media at the Federal Ministry of Finance said the meeting is part of the Federal Government’s wider engagement with development partners to lock in reform gains and attract new investment as Nigeria moves from stability to growth. She explained that the priority is to turn stronger fundamentals into productive investment, more jobs and better living standards for Nigerians.
Good production costs money and you can support what we do. Please find our details below👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾 Account name: MARKET ONLINE MEDIA Bank: UBA Acc No: 1026401930.
