Economy
THE Federal Government on Thursday reiterated its commitment to ensure that economic situation stabilise effectively across the country.
Mr Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, said this at a quarterly Ministerial briefing, in Abuja.
Edun, who said Nigeria was still experiencing Inflation, added that the pace of annual growth of inflation was slowing.
According to him, we are still experiencing inflation in Nigeria. But I think as you can see from the rate of change on the chart, the pace of annual growth of inflation is slowing.
“There was a slight uptick in the month of June, maybe due to the layup festival, seasonal event.
“However, the slowing is clearly a first step towards ultimately achieving the goal of reducing inflation.
“So we are pleased that the well-coordinated fiscal and monetary policies are beginning to yield fruits.
“In spite of the difficulties the country is being faced, the economy in Nigeria grew faster in the first quarter of 2024 compared to 2023,” he said.
The minister said that Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had been proactive in adjusting the monetary policy rate to address inflation.
He said that the effort was beginning to have the desired effect.
“We are optimistic that inflation, in spite of it being sticky at the moment, will moderate soon due to some of the commitments and some of the actions being taken”.
Edun said that several government initiatives and interventions were being implemented to increase the supply of food across the country.
“As we know the consumer price index effect was 50 per cent. So when you achieve a reduction in food prices, you achieve a huge reduction in the overall inflation rate.
“To this, there is a strategic input programme in a very short term.
“The programme involves bringing in agricultural raw materials for food processes.
“The programme focused both at local and state levels; the programme will help to produce more food across the country”.
Edun said that the gap between inflation and interest rates was narrowing, adding that such had make Naira more viable and reduced the incentive to switch to non-Naira investments.
“As a result of this, there is growing confidence as the foreign exchange rate converges and stabilises the transition by CBN.”
The minister said that the ultimate aim of President Bola Tinubu on macro-economic measures was to stabilise the economy.
“So we can encourage both domestic investment and foreign investment because we need to invest more.
“The investment will increase productivity which will lead to growth and create more jobs that will lead to reduction of poverty”.
Edun said that the financial markets were moving in positive direction, adding that evidence was showing positivity.
“Over the last five months, foreign portfolio investment has poured into the market.
“This is beginning to pay off. We are achieving macroeconomic stability.
“This administration recognises the need to drive up revenues historically and compared to our levels.
“A very robust system has been put in place to make sure that what belongs to Nigerians is collected into the federal rather than going elsewhere.”
(NAN)
A.I
July 26, 2024 @ 06:53 GMT|
Tags: CBN Mr Wale Edun
