The Federal Government has indicated plans to enact a law that will prevent future administrations from reversing major economic reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu, including removal of petrol subsidy.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed this on Monday at the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja.
Oyedele said the government is considering a legally backed National Economic Policy Framework to ensure continuity in policies on taxation, tariffs, subsidies, investment and industrial development.
He said the proposal is aimed at ending the cycle of policy reversals that has undermined planning and discouraged investors.
“We now need to lock it in, in institutions, in law, as well as policy framework, so that it can be enduring,” he said at a panel session.
The minister warned against any plan to restore petrol subsidy, saying it created distortions that became costly to sustain.
“Any ideas of returning it, we should forget about it,” he said, adding that government was weighing whether the framework should be enacted into law and backed by stronger institutions.
President Tinubu removed petrol subsidy and unified the foreign exchange market on assumption of office on May 29, 2023, reforms the government said were to address fiscal distortions despite concerns over cost of living.
Oyedele said the proposed framework would require political office holders and appointees to understand and comply with agreed economic principles, with copies attached to appointment letters and incorporated into screening.
He clarified that the Nigeria Economic Policy Framework is still a consultation draft and not yet approved as official policy. Public consultation will run until November 27, 2026, via the Ministry of Finance website, before submission to the Federal Executive Council and the National Economic Council.
Presenting the document, he described policy uncertainty as a major obstacle to growth.
“Policy uncertainty is an invisible tax on enterprise. And unlike most taxes, it generates no revenue for government; it only destroys value and discourages investment,” he said.
The proposal recommends mandatory Policy Impact Assessments before major economic interventions, requiring regulators to provide evidence, costs, beneficiaries and duration, and an annual National Economic Scorecard to be published on Independence Day to track real wages, employment and poverty reduction.
Oyedele said the framework would focus on stability, productivity, enterprise, capital, people, markets and institutions, with private sector-led growth under predictable regulations. He suggested political parties could focus on how to implement a nationally agreed economic policy rather than competing manifestos.
On subsidy removal, he said government should focus on raising incomes rather than suppressing prices.
“Let’s not suppress prices. Let’s focus on raising income,” he said.
He questioned Nigeria’s industrial protection policy, disclosing that locally assembled vehicles contain only about five per cent local content despite 60 per cent tariff and levy protection, and advocated temporary protection tied to performance, improved power, logistics and competitiveness.
He said government targets low single-digit inflation before end of 2027 to pave way for single-digit interest rates, but did not give a timeline for cheaper credit.
He listed improved foreign exchange access, student loans, pension payments, wage adjustments and subsidised credit for small businesses as gains from reforms, noting that salary increases accounted for the largest spending from savings linked to FX and subsidy reforms.
He urged wealthy Nigerians to pay taxes, warning that low revenue could worsen inflation, borrowing costs and naira depreciation.
Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, backed the position, saying Tinubu directed officials to sustain reforms despite hardship concerns.
“There will be no return to subsidy. There will be no return to those distortions,” Bagudu declared, adding that government had agreements with states on fiscal and monetary coordination, infrastructure, security and production, and had mobilised over $6bn from the World Bank and other partners to support household resilience.
Anambra State Governor, Prof. Charles Soludo, also warned against abandoning macroeconomic stability, but said Nigeria’s about four per cent growth rate is insufficient for rapid poverty reduction and job creation.
“The macroeconomic framework, the stability that is back, must never be taken for granted,” Soludo said, calling for higher investment and expansion.