Taiwo Oyedele, finance minister and coordinating minister of the economy, says ithe economic reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu have prevented a deeper fiscal and economic crisis, despite imposing significant short-term costs on households and businesses.
Oloyede, while presenting the government’s “Nigeria’s Reform Scorecard” in Abuja on Wednesday, said the removal of fuel subsidy and unification of the foreign exchange market had created fiscal space, strengthened the country’s external position and prevented further economic distortions.
The minister said the government was not presenting the scorecard as a victory declaration, but as an account of the costs, benefits and potential harm avoided through the reforms.
“We invited you here today not to declare a victory, but to give an account,” he said.
According to the scorecard, subsidy savings generated ₦15.8 trillion for the Federation between June 2023 and December 2025.
Of the amount, ₦5.4 trillion accrued to the Federal Government, while ₦10.4 trillion was shared among states and local governments.
The government also recorded ₦3.1 trillion in incremental independent revenue, mainly from remittances by government-owned entities, while ₦11.9 trillion came from additional borrowing.
Oyedele said the Federal Government therefore had incremental resources of ₦20.4 trillion during the period, which contributed to funding ₦30.64 trillion in additional expenditure.
He said ₦9.39 trillion went into wage adjustments, minimum wage increases and allowances for public servants, while ₦9.37 trillion was spent on external debt servicing following the depreciation of the naira.
Another ₦6.5 trillion was channelled into strategic infrastructure.
The minister stressed that the figures showed that subsidy removal was not primarily a revenue-generating measure.
“The reform was never introduced for revenue purposes, but to address entrenched corruption in an artificially managed fuel subsidy and foreign exchange market,” he said.
Oyedele said the government’s assessment indicated that 27 states that had struggled to pay salaries in May 2023 could now reliably meet their obligations.
He claimed that without the reforms, at least 30 states could have been unable to pay salaries by 2026.
The scorecard also projected that the premium between the official and parallel exchange rates, which had exceeded 60 per cent before the reforms, could have risen above 150 per cent without the unification of the foreign exchange market.
The minister said the legacy Ways and Means financing stock of about ₦30 trillion had also been curtailed rather than allowed to double.
He acknowledged, however, that Nigerians had paid a heavy price for the reforms.
The Monetary Policy Rate has risen from 18.5 per cent in May 2023 to 26.5 per cent, while petrol prices have increased from about ₦185 per litre to between ₦1,100 and ₦1,400.
Oyedele said the government recognised these as real costs rather than attempting to present them as achievements.
“A scorecard that only lists wins is not a scorecard – it is a campaign leaflet, and we did not come here to give you one,” he said.
He argued that without reform, petrol could have become both scarce and more expensive, potentially trading above ₦3,000 per litre on the black market.
On inflation, the minister said headline inflation had fallen to 15.91 per cent in June 2026 from 22.41 per cent in May 2023, while food inflation declined from 24.82 per cent to 17.52 per cent.
Gross foreign reserves, he said, had risen from about $35 billion to $52.5 billion, while net reserves increased from roughly $3 billion to $34.8 billion.
The stock market’s capitalisation also rose from about ₦31 trillion to approximately ₦150 trillion, while real GDP growth strengthened from 2.31 per cent to 3.89 per cent.
Oyedele further cited Nigeria’s sovereign credit rating upgrade by S&P Global in May, describing it as the country’s first such upgrade in 14 years.
He said Nigeria’s exit from the Financial Action Task Force grey list in October 2025 and the European Union’s anti-money laundering deficiency list in January 2026 had also helped restore the country’s standing in the international financial system.
However, he admitted that improvements in household welfare remained unfinished business.
“It means the direction is right, and the numbers – costs included – back that up,” he said.
The minister said the next phase of the reforms would focus on translating macroeconomic improvements into tangible relief for households through expanded cash transfers, agricultural interventions and improved spending.
He said the government would also continue with the implementation of the Nigeria Tax Act, while pursuing reforms in budgeting, reporting and public accountability.
Oyedele said the government’s medium-term objective was to push inflation towards single digits without returning to what he described as distortionary fuel subsidies.
The minister urged Nigerians to scrutinise the scorecard and engage with the government’s data rather than rely on misinformation or sensational claims.
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