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The federal government has announced plans to achieve single-digit inflation before the end of 2027, with a view to creating conditions for lower interest rates and making borrowing more affordable for businesses and individuals.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed this at the Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja on Monday, noting that although ongoing economic reforms were beginning to yield results, rising prices continued to undermine their benefits for Nigerians.
Oyedele said the government was working to ensure that household incomes increased faster than prices, adding that lower inflation could pave the way for single-digit interest rates and unlock greater economic opportunities.
According to him, the reforms had generated savings through foreign exchange and fuel subsidy adjustments, allowing the government to support salary increases, pension payments, retirement benefits and subsidised credit for small businesses. He described the high cost of interest payments as part of the price paid to achieve economic stability, stressing that the next priority was to accelerate the benefits of reforms for ordinary Nigerians.
“What we have announced is before the end of next year, we want to bring inflation to low single digits so that it can create a condition for single-digit interest rates,” he said.
Oyedele noted that borrowing costs of nearly 30 per cent remained a major constraint on economic activity, arguing that lower rates would make capital more accessible and enable businesses to expand their operations.
He added that affordable credit could also help households finance major purchases without having to save for decades, potentially improving living standards and stimulating economic growth.
The minister also called on Nigerians, particularly high-income earners and those with the capacity to pay, to fulfil their tax obligations, warning that widespread tax non-compliance could contribute to economic instability.
He explained that inadequate government revenue could increase reliance on deficit financing, fuel inflationary pressures and force monetary authorities to maintain high interest rates to contain rising prices.
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Meanwhile, Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, called for stronger coordination between federal and state governments to sustain macroeconomic stability and accelerate economic growth.
Soludo said Nigeria’s estimated growth rate of about four per cent represented an improvement but questioned whether the pace was sufficient to significantly reduce poverty and create employment.
He argued that the country needed to sustain annual growth of between seven and 12 per cent over the next decade to achieve more substantial improvements in living standards.
The governor urged subnational governments to improve the efficiency of capital spending and encouraged Nigerians to patronise locally manufactured goods to stimulate domestic production, create jobs and reduce capital flight.
Also speaking at the summit, Chema Triki, Co-founder and Managing Director of Growth Teams, raised concerns over Nigeria’s limited export diversification and weak development of productive capabilities.
Triki said Nigeria ranked 141st out of 145 countries on the Economic Complexity Index, which measures the technological knowledge and productive capabilities reflected in a country’s exports.
She noted that more than 85 per cent of Nigeria’s exports remained concentrated in crude oil and related products, leaving the economy vulnerable to external shocks and fluctuations in global oil prices.
According to her, Nigeria had added only nine new export products to its trade balance between 2007 and 2024, highlighting the slow pace of diversification.
Triki stressed that expanding exports was essential to industrial development, explaining that access to international markets could encourage local businesses to adopt new technologies, improve production standards and strengthen their competitiveness.
