At a strategic session chaired by Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Wale Edun, Nigeria's Economic Management Team (EMT) set out priorities for the next phase of the government's economic programme, aiming for rapid, sustained and inclusive growth following recent stabilisation. EMT subcommittees were instructed to shape an updated economic roadmap for submission to the President, with the government targeting 7% growth in the medium term. The EMT highlighted emerging signs of macroeconomic stabilisation, including a narrowing budget deficit and improved fiscal revenues, and pointed to a recent sovereign credit rating upgrade. The session also credited the Central Bank of Nigeria with helping restore confidence in the external sector through a more transparent exchange rate regime and rising foreign reserves, citing a net foreign exchange reserve of USD 23 billion in 2024 and a reduction in the exchange premium from 65% in 2023 to 1% in 2024. Against global uncertainty, domestic fiscal constraints and a recent drop in oil prices, the EMT emphasised accelerating private sector investment and job creation, improving sovereign ratings to reduce borrowing costs, unlocking pension funds for infrastructure, increasing oil production and lowering crude oil production costs, and strengthening domestic and foreign investment through clearer communication of the economic agenda. Workstreams also covered telecoms infrastructure investment, the role of technology in sectors including agriculture, and disaggregating poverty data to support better targeted opportunities and more effective public spending. EMT subcommittees will continue their work on the roadmap, which is to be presented to the President.

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