The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, says the Federal Government plans to reduce inflation rate to single digit and create more jobs.
Edun stated this during a press conference addressed by the Nigerian economic team, as part of activities marking the end of the 2025 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Spring Meetings on Saturday in Washington D.C.
He said that the government was collaborating with development partners like the World Bank to create jobs for Nigerians in pursuit of sustainable employment and poverty eradication.
“The objective is to create jobs locally, empower youths, and support them through essential infrastructure.
“That includes digital infrastructure, access to data, internet, and fibre optic networks, to enable them to work remotely,” the minister said.
Edun said that the country’s unemployment rate had dropped to 4.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2024 from 5.3 per cent in first quarter 2024.
According to him, the world now faces a very uncertain future, but Nigeria is well positioned to survive the shocks in spite of heightened tensions, inflation, and declining global growth.
The minister also said that President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda were working and the results were commendable.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, said that the government acknowledged the impact of inflationary pressures on the country.
“We recognise that inflation remains the most disruptive force to the economic welfare of Nigerians.
“Our policy stance is firmly focused on bringing inflation down to single digits in a sustainable manner over the medium term,” Cardoso said.
The CBN governor said that the painful reforms embarked upon by the country was now yielding positive results.
“At the IMF meetings the nation was a reference point of how reforms could change the economic trajectory of a nation for the better.
“The reforms are not easy, but they are delivering results. We have moved from a position of vulnerability towards one of growing strength,” he said.
Cardoso said that the significance of Nigeria’s efforts was restoring investors confidence.
“The country had a high-level investment forum at the Nasdaq Market Site in New York.
“That gave insights into the positive impact of the reforms and growing appetite for investment in Nigeria by Diaspora Nigerians and non-Nigerians.
“The New York forum delivered powerful outcomes, it significantly bolstered investor confidence in the country’s market fundamentals, with leading voices affirming the country’s economic progress and renewed standing as a compelling investment destination,” he said.
The CBN governor said that the country recorded a balance of payments surplus of 6.83 billion dollars in 2024, principally on the back of rising exports and capital inflows.
