The Federal Government is considering legislation to protect Nigeria's economic reforms from reversal by successive administrations, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said on Monday. Oyedele disclosed the proposal during the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, stating that the government was seeking national consensus on an economic policy framework backed by law. The framework would provide binding principles for future policy decisions covering taxation, tariffs, subsidies, investment and industrial development. "We now need to lock it in, in institutions, in law, as well as policy framework, so that it can be enduring," he said.
Oyedele explained that the proposal was intended to prevent future administrations from abandoning reforms for short-term political considerations, particularly in areas such as petrol subsidy removal. He said the government envisaged a system in which public officials and political appointees would be required to understand and comply with agreed economic principles. The framework could become part of the screening process for government appointments, with copies accompanying appointment letters to guide policy decisions. However, he clarified that the proposed Nigeria Economic Policy Framework remained a consultation draft and had not been approved as government policy. Public consultation would continue until November 27, 2026, through the Ministry of Finance's website, after which the document would proceed to the Federal Executive Council for approval and the National Economic Council for endorsement.
The minister criticised Nigeria's history of inconsistent economic policies, saying successive governments had repeatedly undermined earlier reforms. "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 framework proposes mandatory Policy Impact Assessments before major economic interventions, requiring regulators to establish the evidence, costs, beneficiaries and expected duration of proposed measures. It also recommends an annual National Economic Scorecard, to be published by Independence Day, measuring changes in real wages, productive employment and poverty.
On petrol subsidy, Oyedele maintained that artificially suppressing prices had distorted the economy and created problems that became more expensive to correct. He argued that the priority should be increasing household incomes rather than attempting to maintain prices below sustainable market levels. "Let's not suppress prices. Let's focus on raising income," he said. The minister also questioned Nigeria's industrial protection policies, revealing that vehicles assembled domestically contained only about five per cent local content despite enjoying tariff and levy protection of up to 60 per cent. He advocated temporary, performance-based protection for domestic industries, alongside improvements in electricity, logistics and manufacturing competitiveness.
Oyedele said the government was targeting low single-digit inflation before the end of 2027 to create conditions for single-digit interest rates, though he declined to give a definite timeline for achieving cheaper borrowing. He maintained that reforms were already producing benefits, citing improved access to foreign exchange, student loans, pension payments, wage adjustments and subsidised credit for small businesses. The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, reinforced the government's position, saying President Bola Tinubu had directed officials to sustain the reforms. Bagudu added that more than $6 billion had been mobilised from the World Bank and other development partners to support household resilience and economic opportunities. Bagudu declared: "There will be no return to subsidy. There will be no return to those distortions."
For savers, borrowers and business owners, the proposal means reduced policy uncertainty could eventually lead to lower borrowing costs and more stable conditions for economic planning, though tangible benefits depend on the framework's adoption and implementation by future governments.