Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, announced that Nigeria's foreign reserves have increased by four billion dollars since January.
He made this statement on Thursday during an investor
meeting in Lagos, which was held to discuss the issuance of a 500
million-dollar FGN bond.
Edun further noted that the total revenue of the Federal
Government has doubled.
He attributed this positive development to the execution of
strong fiscal policies and reforms designed to improve revenue collection
efficiency across multiple sectors.
According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the external
reserves have reached a commendable 35.05 billion dollars as of July.
The CBN’s strategic plan to double the diaspora’s remittance
by ensuring a consistent influx of foreign exchange into the country is
commendable.
Furthermore, the macroeconomic reforms implemented by the
President Bola Tinubu administration are beginning to bear fruit, with targeted
interventions being effectively implemented across the nation.
“In macroeconomic reforms, the pain comes before the
benefits. There have been interventions that gave direct payments to
individuals.
“The process was difficult at first, but with technology and
determination, it has been increased.
“Last month, a million households representing five million
people received their payments. That will be maintained and increased,” he
said.
He stated that small-scale enterprises were receiving
financing at an annual interest rate of nine percent.
The minister announced that the implementation of the
N70,000 minimum wage and wage adjustments for specific categories of government
employees on the consolidated salary structure would occur shortly.
“The minimum wage is a law, and it is just about following
the law. Fiscal autonomy for Local Government Councils is also an aspect that
the law deals with,” he said