President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms have started bearing fruits, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, has said, pointing out that the measures have restored faith in the country’s economy.
“The reforms have restored confidence in the economy,” the minister told the Nigerian Television Authority in an interview monitored at the weekend and explained that foreign investors had resurgent interest in Nigeria.
He said that although the removal of the petrol subsidy had caused some pain, the policy had increased the quantum of funds available to the three tiers of government to invest in critical infrastructure that would regenerate the economy, adding that before May 29, 2023, the finances of the government were fragile.
“The payment of subsidies affected the quantum of revenue available to all the layers of government so much so that the economy was at a standstill,” Bagudu stated, adding: “The reform measures that were taken were in tandem with the Renewed Hope Agenda and the eight priority areas of the Tinubu administration to regenerate confidence in the economy and provide resources to invest in the productive sector.”
Saying both objectives of the reforms had been achieved, the minister pointed out that government at all levels, federal, state and local government, had acquired more capacity to support the economy.
According to him, “The FG has expanded social investment support to ensure that those who are at the lower end of the income strata of the society, who are affected by the reforms are helped to cope. All the sectors that will enable the gains to be achieved, including agriculture, infrastructure and security have seen more funding. Sectors that are investing in them will secure our future like education, health and social investment have received not only increased budgetary allocation but also speedy implementation.”
He explained that programmes were also introduced to support the sectors so that manufacturing activities could resume and agricultural activity could be better supported on a more sustainable basis. Bagudu said part of the steps that were taken to boost employment was the provision of mortgage funds to regenerate the mortgage sector so that activities in the sector could increase.
He commended the collaboration between the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Office of the National Security Adviser to rein in currency speculators and manipulators and observed that it had shored up the value of the national currency. The minister pleaded with Nigerians to persevere, saying the president had persistently empathised with them.
“We must take note that President Tinubu has empathised with the people and assured them that the reforms were not intended to inflict pain on them but that they were necessary measures to reposition the economy,” he said.
