The federal government has ruled out a return to petrol subsidies and multiple exchange rates, warning that reversing the economic reforms introduced under President Bola Tinubu could undermine investor confidence and threaten progress towards economic stability.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, stated this on Saturday during a press briefing on the sidelines of the 2026 International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, Thailand.
Oyedele said the government had no plans to reverse the reforms, despite rising fuel prices and calls for changes to its economic policies.
He added that the administration had communicated its position during engagements with investors, credit rating agencies and multilateral institutions.
“Let me be clear, there will be no return to fuel subsidies or multiple exchange rates,” the minister said.
Addressing the recent 30-day retail margin discount introduced by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Oyedele said the measure was a temporary commercial decision rather than a government-funded subsidy.
“The recent 30-day retail margin discount is a time-bound commercial decision by the NNPC to reduce margins and support Nigerians. It is not a subsidy paid from public funds,” he said.
The minister argued that reversing the reforms could weaken investor confidence and undermine efforts to stabilise the economy. He said the government was instead exploring measures to reduce the impact of higher energy costs without reinstating a blanket fuel subsidy.
Oyedele also disclosed that Nigeria was targeting economic growth of seven per cent, expressing the view that the IMF’s projections for the country were too conservative.
The IMF had projected Nigeria’s economy to grow by 4.2 per cent in 2026 and 4.3 per cent in 2027.
“We have a target of 7 percent growth,” Oyedele said.
He maintained that Nigeria could achieve stronger growth if the government sustained its reforms and addressed the constraints affecting businesses and households.
According to him, reducing inflation and financing costs, alongside tackling pressures arising from food, energy and logistics expenses, would be critical to achieving the target.
The minister pointed to easing inflation and stronger external reserves as signs of progress under the ongoing reforms but stressed that macroeconomic improvements must translate into increased economic activity and better living standards.
Oyedele also warned that Nigeria needed to prioritise investments capable of generating jobs as artificial intelligence increasingly threatens to widen the gap between economic growth and employment.
He said economic performance should not be measured by growth figures alone, arguing that investment and technological advances must create decent jobs and improve people’s livelihoods.
Citing estimates discussed during the meetings, the minister said about 1.2 billion young people were expected to enter the global labour market over the next 10 to 15 years, while only about 400 million jobs were projected to be created.
He said the projected imbalance posed a significant employment challenge, particularly for developing economies with large and growing youth populations.
Oyedele warned that artificial intelligence could drive economic expansion without creating enough jobs to accommodate new entrants into the labour market.
He said Nigeria needed to invest extensively in skills development and attract capital into sectors capable of generating substantial employment.
The minister also called for policies that would ensure the benefits of artificial intelligence were shared fairly, including arrangements that would enable African countries to use their data and technological capabilities to build domestic expertise.
He further argued that the performance of multilateral development institutions should be assessed not only by the financing they provide or the economic growth they support, but also by the number of jobs their interventions create.
