•Oyedele unveils power, agriculture, tax reforms
•Dangote credits policy stability for $17bn refinery investment
From Uche Usim, Bangkok, Thailand
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, has said that the federal government will not rest until inflation falls to single digits, despite the sharp decline from its peak of about 34 to 35 per cent to around 15 per cent.
He said high inflation remained a major burden on poor Nigerians, eroding their purchasing power and making it difficult for households to afford food and other basic necessities.
Cardoso spoke on Wednesday at an investors’ engagement on the sidelines of the 2026 IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, where the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, outlined fresh reforms to improve the business environment and the Dangote Group credited recent fiscal and monetary policy changes with helping to stabilise its operations and support investment.
The engagement also featured the Director General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Patience Oniha, who explained the government’s borrowing plans for the fourth quarter of 2026 amid investors’ concerns about bond supply and market uncertainty.
Cardoso said the decline in inflation was encouraging but not enough to warrant complacency, stressing that the CBN was determined to bring price increases down to more manageable levels.
“The reason why we felt it was important to give ourselves this as a target is to recognise the fact that inflation is probably the biggest tax on the poor,” he said.
He added: “Inflation has gone from about 34, 35 per cent to about 15, and yes, that’s a significant decrease, very significant. But what we are basically saying is that we are not going to rest.”
The CBN governor said the move towards inflation targeting would make monetary policy more transparent and give businesses and investors a clearer understanding of the direction of economic policies.
He also defended the wider benefits of the reforms, arguing that stronger external reserves and relative stability in the foreign exchange market had helped shield Nigeria from some of the pressures affecting other economies.
Cardoso said the country’s external reserves had risen to their highest level in 18 years, providing a buffer against external shocks, including the effects of global conflicts and uncertainty over tariffs.
He maintained that the naira’s stability and appreciation had helped ease inflationary pressures, with benefits extending beyond the financial markets to businesses and households.
“What does this mean for me? I’m not feeling it. You do, you feel it definitely,” he said and noted that Nigerians would have faced more severe economic pressures without the reforms.
According to him, the stability being achieved was laying the foundation for fresh investment and stronger economic growth.
The Finance Minister, Taiwo Oyedele, in his remarks, said the federal government was preparing major reforms in agriculture, electricity, inflation management, business regulation and access to economic data.
He added that the government recognised that food prices remained a major driver of inflation and was working to address the problems affecting agricultural production and food supply.
On electricity, the minister said Nigeria could not achieve its ambition of becoming a $1 trillion economy without a reliable power supply.
“You cannot power a $1 trillion economy in darkness. It’s impossible,” he said.
He explained that the government was examining measures to improve electricity pricing, tackle transmission challenges and raise efficiency in the power sector to attract more investment.
Oyedele also revealed that the government was working with state governments and other relevant authorities to coordinate measures to reduce inflation, with specific responsibilities and timelines for implementation.
On the cost of doing business, he warned that excessive regulations, unclear rules and multiple charges were imposing heavy burdens on companies and discouraging investment.
“We estimate that overregulation, regulatory burden, lack of clarity, and all of those excessive burdens that we post on businesses actually are costing us more than the combined revenue from corporate tax, personal income tax and VAT combined,” he said.
The minister said the government was developing a framework for economic policy to prevent agencies from introducing new rules, fees and licences without proper coordination.
He also promised to improve access to reliable fiscal and economic data, including information on taxation, government revenue, employment and inflation.
Oyedele said the government wanted to move investors away from short-term portfolio investments towards longer-term commitments that would establish factories, expand production and create jobs.
He stressed that Nigeria needed to create decent jobs rather than focus only on reducing the official unemployment rate, noting that many people remained poor despite having work.
“We don’t just need to create jobs; we need to create decent jobs,” he said.
On incentives for investors seeking to establish factories, Oyedele said the government had introduced the Economic Development Incentive, which offers tax credits to qualifying businesses instead of relying solely on conventional tax holidays.
He explained that investors must meet specified conditions to earn the credits, making the arrangement more difficult to abuse.
The minister also acknowledged concerns about uncertainty over the taxation of government securities, limited market liquidity and inadequate communication of policy changes. He promised clearer guidance to help investors make informed decisions.
The DMO DG, Patience Oniha, while responding to questions about the government’s fourth-quarter bond issuance calendar, said the planned borrowing comprised both refinancing of maturing debt and new borrowing.
She explained that the government would continue to monitor interest rates, market conditions and investor demand when deciding the volume of securities to issue.
Oniha added that borrowing had increased after the passage of the 2026 budget, following relatively slower issuance in the first two quarters of the year.
The Dangote Group, meanwhile, said greater consistency and transparency in government policies had improved investor confidence and helped it plan its operations.
The Group’s Chief Economist, Hassan Mammud, who spoke on behalf of its President, Aliko Dangote, said the company’s experience showed that large investments were possible when investors could rely on predictable fiscal and monetary policies.
He cited the Group’s investment of about $17 billion in its refinery, saying such a commitment would have been difficult to sustain in an economy where policies lacked consistency and credibility.
Mammud also pointed to incentives available to businesses operating in export-free zones as part of the factors supporting investment.
He urged local and foreign investors to take advantage of opportunities in Nigeria, describing the country as a model for investment in other African economies.
“Please come into Nigeria, bring your investment. Nigeria is actually a symbol to other African countries now,” he said.
He cited the group’s planned $20 billion refinery investment in Kenya as an example of how its Nigerian experience could support expansion across the continent.
Cardoso said the experiences shared by investors demonstrated the importance of policy credibility and consistency in attracting capital, adding that the ultimate objective was to establish conditions that support investment, economic expansion and improved living standards.
He urged stakeholders to help Nigerians understand the reforms, insisting that sustained progress in controlling inflation and maintaining economic stability would benefit the wider population, not only investors and businesses.
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