Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, gives an update on how the country successfully exited its second recession as the Presidential Communication team holds the maiden edition of the State House briefing.
Ahmed said that the Implementation of Economic Sustainability Programmes contributed largely to Nigeria’s exit from the recession.
The Finance Minister said that the Federal Government sourced funding from DFIs – IMF, AfDB, IDB, and others – to reflate the economy in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic.
She said, “We have a major target to bring down inflation to single digits. We are working with the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and the Central Bank of Nigeria to achieve this”.
The Minister of Finance said that the largest contributor to inflation in Nigeria is food inflation.
“When you decouple it, you find that transport costs are the largest contributor hence the decision to reduce import duties on tractors and other vehicles.
“We have approval from the President to submit a supplementary budget to NASS to fund additional Covid-19 vaccines – to complement the ones arriving soon.
“Nigeria’s debt is still very much within sustainable limits. We need to roll out infrastructure now, and grow the economy now, not later. Our focus is on growing our revenues.”
The Finance Minister revealed that the Nigerian government recorded 97% budget performance in 2020.