Finance Minister Ahmed vows to reduce inflation to single digits

The Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, says the Federal Government is committed to significantly reducing inflation in Nigeria.

The minister said during a media briefing on Thursday, February 25, 2021 that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has a major target to bring down inflation to single digits.

The 60-year-old said this would be achieved with the collaboration of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC), and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

"The largest contributor to inflation in Nigeria is food inflation. When you decouple it, you find that transport costs are the largest contributor.

"Hence the decision to reduce import duties on tractors and other vehicles in the Finance Act 2020," she said.

Headline inflation in Nigeria has not been single digits for five years since 9.62% was recorded in January 2016.

In fact, inflation has consistently increased each month for the past 17 months, with 16.47% recorded last month.

Food inflation also increased to 20.57% last month with the last single digits food inflation recorded in May 2015.

Ahmed assured Nigerians during Thursday's briefing that the government is focused on growing the nation's revenues.

"Nigeria's debt is still very much within sustainable limits.

"We need to roll out infrastructure now, and grow the economy now, not later," she said.

She also noted that the sale of dead or non-performing government assets is to allow credible investors to revive them and not primarily for budget financing like critics have pointed out.