The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Olawale Edun has said Nigeria is economically far much better than where it was when the President Bola Tinubu administration took over on 29 May, 2023.
Edun spoke during a question and answer session at a session on the floor of the House Representative on Tuesday.
The minister stated that the country at that time had expenditure that was wasteful and unsustainable, saying that in turning back from that road, there would be dust.
Edun said bold measures had been taken by President Tinubu and that the gains would soon manifest, adding that there is now a reduction in consumption of petrol by about 20 million litres.
The minister stated that government is confronting pipeline vandalism and that oil production is rising, as the nation now do 1.65 million barrels per day.
He said more palliatives and more succour are coming to reduce the rising cost of living, saying that the government is looking inward and focusing on domestic resource mobilization, adding that the government had also brought budget deficit down.
Also speaking, the Minister of Budget, Atiku Bagudu said the government delivered a budget that now has capital expenditure that outweighs recurrent expenditure.
“We have a capital expenditure of 39% of the budget. There is also a marked increase in budgets for infrastructure, health and education which are the enablers of growth.
There are many provisions in the budget to support agriculture. Agric funding has increased. More funding for small scale farmers so they can do better as individuals and also contribute better to national productivity.
The coordinating mechanism put in place under Minister of Finance gives confidence that we will deliver on the 2024 budget. We will overcome the challenges of the moment and come up with economic growth that will carry everyone along,” he said.
