Nigeria Minister of Finance, Wale Edun
Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, says that although President Bola Tinubu took office in May, Nigeria was headed for economic collapse and is now on the road to recovery.
During his Tuesday speech on the status of the economy before the House of Representatives, Edun revealed this.
“Where we are as a nation economically is a much better place than we were on the 29th of May, 2023. We have heard from the governor of the CBN. He has talked about the importance of sustainability,” he told the lawmakers in Abuja.
“Before the implementation of the 8-point agenda of the President began, we were in an unsustainable place in terms of the fiscal situation of Nigeria. We were on the road to economic disaster.”
The economy’s coordinating minister also mentioned how wasteful and unsustainable the nation’s spending was during the previous administration.
“We had expenditure which was wasteful and unsustainable by way of the subsidy not just on fuel but the subsidy on foreign exchange which confused the incentive framework and people were chasing cheap dollars in other to make an instant profit,” he said.
On May 29, 2023, Tinubu deposed previous president Muhammadu Buhari in favor of his “Renewed Hope” platform. President Tinubu pledged throughout his All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign that he would go right to work and labor nonstop to improve Nigeria.
Inflation and living expenses have increased as a result of the several reforms implemented since then, notably the elimination of the hotly contested gasoline subsidy.
Nonetheless, Edun reminded Nigerians of the President’s resolve to improve everyone’s quality of life, even as he acknowledged the challenges facing the nation.
“Likewise, there have been other benefits which have accrued as a result of the changes that have been made. However, inflation has increased, the cost of living has spiked, and right from the onset, Mr president is committed to making sure that the poorest and the most vulnerable are not left behind. The palliatives, the interventions have been rolled out.”