The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, on Tuesday hinted that the Federal Government would henceforth rely more on revenue generated and reduce its dependence on borrowing from local and international creditors.
Edun, who made this disclosure while speaking on Bloomberg Television at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, emphasized the need for the government to focus on revenue generation to meet its funding obligations
While noting that Nigeria could access international bond markets, if necessary, the minister maintained the primary focus of the government would be to mobilize its own resources by leveraging the ongoing fiscal reforms to boost revenue required for the nation’s sustainable growth
According to him, the need for government to raise tax revenue and strengthen fiscal sustainability has become imperative in the face of mounting global economic pressures
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Edun said: “The issue now is to focus on revenue, focus on domestic resource mobilization.We’re hoping to rely less on borrowing.”
The minister also clarified that Nigeria remained open to international capital markets if needed but that the ongoing domestic reforms remained crucial to the government’s fiscal policy agenda, particularly by blocking all revenue leakages and utilizing generated revenues on projects with great potential for socioeconomic transformation of the country.
It would be recalled that on assumption of office in 2023, President Bola Tinubu’s administration has been implementing sundry fiscal measures, including the removal of fuel subsidy, removal of currency restrictions and overhauling the nation’s tax framework, to improve the efficiency of the public finance system and position the economy on the path of sustainable growth.
The administration plans to raise the revenue to 18% of GDP next year, up from roughly 14% currently as part of its broader efforts to grow the economy and improve investor confidence in the country..
