Wale Edun, the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, has disclosed that the federal government has not taken out a loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
During a meeting with investors at the ongoing Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington, DC, he made this statement on Thursday while answering questions from reporters.
He stated that the federal government will identify strategies to address the issue of excessive liquidity in the economy and that the monetary and fiscal authorities were working in tandem to reduce inflation.
“We will identify ways and means to relieve the pressure of excess money in the system,” he stated.
By doing this, the two authorities are collaborating to lower inflation, relieve pressure on price stability, and stabilise the exchange rate, all with the aim of lowering interest rates to enable investors to borrow money at more reasonable rates and restart the economy.
“We must prioritise mobilising domestic resources over borrowing more. To prevent pressures from repayment and refinancing, we desire long-term resources.
The Minister continued by saying that the country’s GDP to tax ratio was unacceptably low—even lower than the norm for the African region—and that as a result, changes were in place to increase tax income by double over the next three years by streamlining taxation, utilising technology, and putting policies in place.
“At 10 percent to GDP, it would seem like some people are not paying their taxes,” he added.
