• Hausa Edition
  • Podcast
  • Conferences
  • LeVogue Magazine
  • Business News
  • Print Advert Rates
  • Online Advert Rates
  • Contact Us
Tuesday, August 5, 2025
Leadership Newspapers
Read in Hausa
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Health
  • Entertainment
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Football
  • Others
    • LeVogue Magazine
    • Conferences
    • National Economy
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Health
  • Entertainment
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Football
  • Others
    • LeVogue Magazine
    • Conferences
    • National Economy
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
Leadership Newspapers
No Result
View All Result

WORLD BANK TO FG…Use Oil Wealth For Nigerians’ Welfare

Gives 7-point agenda for economic turnaround | We have no options for hard decisions – Presidency

by Mark Itsibor
10 months ago
in Cover Stories
nigeria
Share on WhatsAppShare on FacebookShare on XTelegram

The World Bank Group has urged the Nigerian government to redirect its oil wealth to benefit all citizens, not just the elite.

Addressing the current economic challenges, Indermit Gill, the Chief Economist and Vice President of the World Bank stated that the suffering is widespread in Nigeria, with children and young people bearing the brunt of inflation, poor education, healthcare, and unemployment.

Advertisement

Mr Gill said Nigeria’s reforms from 2003 to 2007 were exactly what was needed to turn the economy around, but they were not sustained. “During those four years, Nigeria implemented fiscal and exchange rate reforms. It introduced unprecedented transparency into the recording and allocation of oil revenues. It renegotiated its Paris Club debt, which had created this debt overhang that was choking the economy, and the payoff was immense and immediate.”

He lamented that the federal government’s fiscal, monetary, and exchange rate reforms are hurting everyone, especially ordinary Nigerians, who are struggling with high food and transportation prices.

“So, oil wealth should be used for the welfare of all Nigerians, as it has been used to benefit just the elite for too long. The elite are also being hurt by these reforms that started last year, but they have done very well in the past, and they have built substantial buffers. The ordinary Nigerians are being hurt even more.

They were affected much more by the policies of the past. They don’t have any buffers, so their welfare should be uppermost in our minds today,” Mr Gill remarked yesterday at the 30th Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja.

RELATED

AS CONTINUOUS VOTER REGISTRATION BEGINS AUGUST 18…Parties Vow To Mobilise Citizens, CSOs Demand More Centres

AS CONTINUOUS VOTER REGISTRATION BEGINS AUGUST 18…Parties Vow To Mobilise Citizens, CSOs Demand More Centres

3 hours ago
wassce

WASSCE 2025 Results: Candidates Perform Poorly In English, Maths

3 hours ago

“The government must do everything in its power to protect the most vulnerable citizens against hardships because their lives and the lives of Nigeria’s 110 million children depend on it, and it must stay the course of reform because Nigeria’s long-term future and the future of the 110 million children depend on it.”

He called on Nigerian policymakers to prioritise non-oil growth and ensure a competitive exchange rate, which Nigeria now has. He added that now is the best opportunity for the private sector to protect the poor and maintain competitiveness.

In his reaction, President Bola Tinubu, through Vice President Kashim Shettima, said his administration empathises with Nigerians but has only one option besides introducing tough economic reforms.

Shettima said Nigeria’s economic challenges are insignificant and manageable as long as the right policies are implemented. Speaking to the summit’s theme ‘Collaborative Action for Growth, Competitiveness, and Stability’ on Monday, the Vice President said, “Like many other nations, Nigeria has experienced significant economic problems over the past few years. The challenges have been global as well as domestic.”

Gill told the gathering at the Transcorp Hilton that the problems confronting the Nigerian economy today first surfaced more than 40 years ago when oil prices began collapsing in the early 1980s after the big oil boom of the 1970s. He blamed Nigeria’s current economic woes on poor fiscal and exchange rate policies.

The World Bank Vice President presented the Nigerian government with a seven-point agenda to build sustainable economic growth: “First, learn from your policy mistakes. Second, let markets determine the exchange rate. Third, keep public debt sustainable. Fourth, adopt world price-based fiscal rules. Fifth, make accounting and allocation of revenues fully, completely, and painfully transparent. Sixth, devise a public investment programme that promotes the diversification of the economy. And seventh, above all, this is the difference between the Norwegian experience and the Nigerian experience – stay the course.”
Earlier, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, stated that one of the immediate gains of the administration’s reforms “is increased revenue, which has improved funding for the three tiers and enhanced their ability to meet their obligations, including the payment of the new minimum wage.”

He said that between last year’s summit and today, the government had recorded a N2.17 trillion supplementary budget, a 2024 annual budget, and an amendment to the 2024 budget.
Speakers at the summit noted that Nigeria is again at a crossroads as it implements a far-reaching, politically difficult reform with national, regional, and global repercussions.

However, Gill emphasised that the current administration’s signature reforms must be sustained despite the pain to ensure an economic turnaround.

“Nigeria must stay the course for at least another 10 to 15 years to transform its economy. If it does that, it will become an engine of growth in Sub-Saharan Africa and help to transform the region.

“I hope Nigeria will thrive; the President’s signature reforms are essential to start that thriving process. They are crucial to breaking from the past and charting a more hopeful course for all Nigerians. These include the unification of what used to be multiple exchange rates, allowing that unified exchange rate to be determined by the market, and, of course, the elimination of fuel subsidies,” he stated.

The World Bank Chief also urged the Central Bank of Nigeria to stay focused on managing inflation and resist short-term capital inflows that might push up the naira’s value too quickly. “It should rebuild foreign exchange reserves as a cushion against oil price volatility,” he added.


We’ve got the edge. Get real-time reports, breaking scoops, and exclusive angles delivered straight to your phone. Don’t settle for stale news. Join LEADERSHIP NEWS on WhatsApp for 24/7 updates →

Join Our WhatsApp Channel




Tags: Bola Ahmed TinubuKashim ShettimaWorld Bank
SendShareTweetShare
Previous Post

6 Die Of Cholera, 14 Hospitalised In Kebbi

Next Post

UniAbuja Crisis: ASUU Demands Transparency In VC Selection

Mark Itsibor

Mark Itsibor

Mark Itsibor is a journalist and communication specialist with 10 years of experience, He is currently Chief Correspondent at LEADERSHIP Media Group and writes on Finance, Economy, Politics, Crime, and Judiciary. He has a B.Sc in Political Science, Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism (Print), and B.A in Development Communication. His Twitter handle is @Itsibor_M

You May Like

AS CONTINUOUS VOTER REGISTRATION BEGINS AUGUST 18…Parties Vow To Mobilise Citizens, CSOs Demand More Centres
Cover Stories

AS CONTINUOUS VOTER REGISTRATION BEGINS AUGUST 18…Parties Vow To Mobilise Citizens, CSOs Demand More Centres

2025/08/05
wassce
Cover Stories

WASSCE 2025 Results: Candidates Perform Poorly In English, Maths

2025/08/05
Missing Crude: CSOs Dismiss Whistleblower’s Claims, Allege Extortion Attempts
Cover Stories

Nigeria’s Oil Production Surpassed 1.8mbpd In July – NUPRC

2025/08/05
JUST-IN: Tinubu Rewards D’Tigress With OON Honours, $100k Each, Houses
Cover Stories

JUST-IN: Tinubu Rewards D’Tigress With OON Honours, $100k Each, Houses

2025/08/04
The Untold Struggle-for-Survival Story Of Bauchi Flood Victims
Cover Stories

Rainstorm Wreaks Havoc On Plateau Community, Flood Submerges Farmlands In Niger, Kogi

2025/08/04
Peter Obi Calls For Reopening Of Onitsha Markets Closed Over Illicit Drugs
Cover Stories

ACF Rejects Peter Obi’s Reiterated One-term Pledge

2025/08/04
Leadership Conference advertisement

LATEST

Gombe NRCS, Deputy Governor, Others Join Tree Planting Campaign

Governor Radda Lauds Appointment Of New District Heads

Desertification: Governor Yusuf Flags Off Distribution Of 5.5m Seedlings

Buni Tasks Emir Of Gudi On Peace, Unity

UNICEF Raises Alarm Over Poor Breastfeeding Practices

NBTE Approves New ND, HND Programmes For Fed Poly Damaturu

2027: Group Faults Calls For Nasarawa AG’s Resignation

ICPC Seeks Support Against Systemic Corruption, Job Racketeering

PPDC Launches $4,000 Budeshi Grant For Investigative Journalism

Ododo Inaugurates Skill Acquisition Centre In College

© 2025 Leadership Media Group - All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Health
  • Entertainment
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Football
  • Others
    • LeVogue Magazine
    • Conferences
    • National Economy
  • Contact Us

© 2025 Leadership Media Group - All Rights Reserved.