Nigeria’s economic reform experience could provide valuable lessons for African countries seeking sustainable growth, stronger regional trade and improved living standards.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, stated this at the Africa’s Golden Future Forum in Bangkok, Thailand.
Oyedele identified fuel subsidy removal, foreign exchange liberalisation and tax reform as key components of Nigeria’s reform programme, stressing that the sequencing of policies, effective communication and public trust were critical to achieving desired outcomes.
He said removing the fuel subsidy before liberalising the foreign exchange market helped manage the impact of rising costs, and that strong institutions and consistent policies were essential to sustaining reforms.
The Minister called on African countries to dismantle trade barriers, improve infrastructure and strengthen regional integration to maximise opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
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He said Nigeria was developing an economic policy framework to improve coordination among trade, fiscal and monetary policies, while identifying energy, logistics, storage and processing infrastructure as critical to enhancing the continent’s competitiveness.
Oyedele also highlighted Nigeria’s National Single Window initiative, designed to simplify border procedures and improve trade efficiency.
On social protection, he said Nigeria’s cash transfer programme had reached more than 10 million households, while over 1.5 million students had benefited from education support.
Implementation of Reforms
Also speaking, the President of the African Development Bank, Sidi Ould Tah, called for the practical implementation of reforms across Africa, emphasising that policy commitments must translate into tangible results.
Ould Tah said the bank had supported reforms in Nigeria and Egypt through budget support and was collaborating with development partners to expand electricity access across the continent.
He cited Mission 300, an initiative launched with the World Bank and other partners to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030, as an example of the regional cooperation needed to address infrastructure gaps.
The AfDB President said intra-African trade accounted for about 15 per cent of the continent’s total trade, compared with 40 and 60 per cent in other regions.
He added that more than 60 per cent of the bank’s financing went into infrastructure, including regional projects designed to improve connectivity and promote continental integration.
Ould Tah further disclosed that the African Development Fund’s regional financing mechanism could cover up to 90 per cent of eligible regional projects involving more than two African countries, helping to bridge financing gaps in cross-border infrastructure development.
