Chatham House: We Cannot Stop Governance Because of Elections – Oyedele

Nigeria’s Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele has said the government will not halt its economic reform programme in advance of the 2027 general elections, vowing that fiscal discipline will be maintained regardless of the political calendar.

Oyedele said the administration’s policies were anchored in law and institutions rather than the discretion of officials, making them difficult to reverse.

“The best economic policy in an election year is the same as in any other year. That is the point of credibility,” Oyedele said this while speaking at Chatham House in London on Wednesday.

“We don’t stop governance because of election, and we don’t do silly stuff because of election.

Oyedele noted that while macroeconomic indicators were improving, many Nigerians were yet to feel the benefits.

He pointed to a sharp drop in headline inflation to 14.63% in September 2026, from a peak of 34.6% in November 2024, but admitted that food prices remained stubbornly high at 19.6%.

“Macroeconomic stability means little to a mother who still cannot afford food,” he said.

“Reform must be felt in the kitchen, not only in the reserve numbers.”

The minister defended the removal of the petrol subsidy and the unification of the exchange rate, stating that without these measures, Nigeria would have faced hyperinflation.

He noted that the government was expanding direct cash transfers to over 10 million households to protect the most vulnerable while investing in agricultural technology, irrigation, and rural roads to tackle food inflation.

Oyedele also dismissed recent criticisms regarding a fuel discount at NNPC stations, clarifying it was a targeted margin discount and not a return to subsidies.

“The person that stays on that queue for 30 minutes needs that 66 naira. That’s targeted intervention,” he said.