Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele announced that the Federal Government plans to enact legislation preventing future administrations from reversing core economic reforms.
Speaking at the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja on Monday, Oyedele unveiled the draft Nigerian Economic Policy Framework designed to drive policy consistency and stimulate long-term investment.
“We now need to lock it in, in institutions, in law, as well as policy framework, so that it can be enduring,” he said.
The proposed framework will guide key government decisions concerning taxation, tariffs, subsidies, investment, and industrial development.
The framework aims to prevent abrupt policy reversals that spook businesses and erode investor confidence.
Oyedele stated that the government is soliciting public feedback on whether to codify the framework into law and how to strengthen state institutions to hold future administrations to established economic principles.
He also ruled out reinstating fuel subsidies, which President Bola Tinubu’s administration abolished in 2023.
“Policy uncertainty is an invisible tax on enterprise,” Oyedele declared, characterizing erratic government actions as a severe burden on business operations.
“And unlike most taxes, it generates no revenue for government; it only destroys value and discourages investment.”
The draft framework mandates policy impact assessments prior to launching major economic interventions.
Under the proposal, officials must clearly define the target problem, present supporting evidence, identify intended beneficiaries, and detail total projected expenditures.
The framework also introduces an annual National Economic Scorecard to track real earnings, productive employment, and poverty metrics, replacing reliance on standard economic growth statistics.
Oyedele stated that public feedback on the document will remain open through November 27 before submission to the National Economic Council for endorsement and the Federal Executive Council for final approval.
Backstory…
The Federal Government’s consideration of legislation to protect Nigeria’s economic reforms from reversal comes amid growing debate over the impact of President Bola Tinubu’s policies, including petrol subsidy removal and foreign exchange reforms, and whether successive administrations should be able to abandon them.
President Bola Tinubu inaugurated the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms on August 8, 2023, appointing tax expert Taiwo Oyedele as its chairman. The committee was tasked with addressing Nigeria’s low tax-to-GDP ratio, multiple taxation, the high cost of tax compliance and poor coordination among revenue-collection agencies.
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