Nigeria’s Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele said at the 2026 IMF-World Bank Meetings in Bangkok that the government is aiming for 7 per cent annual growth, well above IMF projections for the next two years. He credited a tax framework rewritten within two years and efforts to cut food, energy and logistics costs as key to lowering inflation and borrowing costs. He argued that bringing inflation down to low single digits could allow single-digit interest rates, noting that prime lending is close to 30 per cent, which weighs on businesses. He also said improved foreign exchange performance has helped the inflation outlook, although food, energy and logistics pressures remain. He defended the “Nigeria Rising” narrative as a way to correct international perceptions that, in the government’s view, do not reflect the country’s progress.
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