The Federal Government has proposed a national economic policy framework to ensure consistent economic decision-making across successive administrations reduce uncertainty for businesses and investors and make job creation rising incomes and poverty reduction the main measures of economic progress.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Mr Taiwo Oyedele said the proposed Nigeria Economic Policy Framework would establish lasting principles for economic policymaking replacing frequent policy changes and ad hoc decisions with a more predictable system of governance.
Speaking at the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit Oyedele said Nigeria has produced numerous economic blueprints development plans and reform programmes over the past four decades without achieving the prosperity expected from such efforts.
He attributed the problem not to a lack of ideas or ambition but to the failure to maintain a consistent economic direction and implement policies with discipline.
‘Our challenge has never been a shortage of ambition or good ideas. It has been the absence of an enduring economic philosophy consistent policymaking and disciplined implementation’ he said.
He said progress made through one reform is often undermined by another policy and successive administrations frequently shift the country’s economic direction.
The minister said the proposed framework aimed to address this problem by establishing principles to guide economic decisions regardless of changes in political leadership.
He explained that the document was not a conventional development plan or a list of government projects but a national economic doctrine that would define how Nigeria makes economic decisions and measures their impact.
‘Governments will come governments will go but Nigeria’s economic horizon must outlive every electoral calendar’ Oyedele said.
He said the Federal Government is seeking to build a productive competitive diversified and inclusive economy capable of creating quality jobs increasing household incomes and delivering shared prosperity.
Under the proposal economic performance would be assessed not only by growth in gross domestic product (GDP) but also by improvements in the living conditions of ordinary Nigerians.
Oyedele said a graduate securing productive employment a farmer increasing output while reducing post-harvest losses and a small business expanding without being overwhelmed by multiple taxes and arbitrary regulations were examples of the outcomes the country should pursue.
‘GDP growth matters but per capita income matters even more’ he said adding that actual investment in productive capacity was more important than announcements of investment commitments that might not translate into economic activity.
The minister’s proposal comes as the Federal Government seeks to establish a more predictable policy environment in which businesses can plan investments expand operations and create jobs with greater confidence.
He identified uncertainty around government policies as a major obstacle to investment and economic growth warning that frequent regulatory changes could impose substantial costs on businesses.
Oyedele said regulators sometimes introduced major policies without sufficient evidence proper assessment of their likely effects or meaningful consultation with the businesses expected to comply.
He also criticised the practice of announcing rules for immediate implementation without giving affected companies enough time to adjust their operations.
According to him policies driven by personal preferences and anecdotal impressions rather than credible data make it difficult for businesses to plan for the future.
‘Policy uncertainty is an invisible tax on enterprise and unlike most taxes it generates no revenue for government. It only destroys value and discourages investment’ he said.
He explained that unpredictable policies could make investors hesitant increase the cost of capital reduce business opportunities and prevent job creation.
To address these concerns the proposed framework would require policy impact assessments before major economic interventions.
Oyedele said significant measures including tax adjustments tariff changes regulatory restrictions and incentives should be supported by documented evidence showing the problems they are intended to solve and their likely consequences.
Policymakers would be expected to explain the evidence behind a proposed measure identify who would benefit and who would bear the cost and specify the conditions under which the policy would expire.
The minister said this approach aimed to replace arbitrary decision-making with transparent predictable governance.
The proposal could have significant implications for businesses across different sectors particularly manufacturers and other investors whose decisions depend on the stability of tax rules trade policies regulations and government incentives.
Oyedele also called for greater coordination among ministries departments and agencies arguing that businesses experience the combined effect of government policies rather than the actions of individual institutions in isolation.
He said every government institution should consider how its decisions affect the overall economy instead of concentrating solely on its own responsibilities or expanding its bureaucratic requirements.
According to him the framework would promote a whole-of-government approach that coordinates economic policies to improve national productivity and competitiveness.
Another major proposal is to introduce an annual National Economic Scorecard to measure the country’s economic performance against outcomes that directly affect Nigerians.
Oyedele said the scorecard would be published every year on or before Independence Day October 1 to publicly assess whether real wages were increasing productive jobs were being created and poverty was declining.
He said the purpose was to make economic performance more transparent and strengthen accountability for the results of government policies.
‘What gets publicly measured cannot be quietly ignored’ the minister said.
The proposed scorecard would focus more on the effects of economic policies on households and businesses rather than relying solely on aggregate economic indicators.
Oyedele said the framework would organise the country’s economic priorities around seven interconnected systems: stability productivity enterprise capital people markets and institutions.
He explained that one area’s performance depended on the strength of the others noting that Nigeria could not build competitive industries without adequate infrastructure and efficient logistics.
He also said sustained economic growth would require substantial investment in education healthcare and human capital.
The minister identified private enterprise as the principal driver of production investment and employment under the proposed economic doctrine.
He said government’s role should include providing public goods maintaining the rule of law correcting genuine market failures and protecting vulnerable people.
On industrial policy Oyedele said the government could support local industries but should not allow protective measures to become permanent shelters for inefficient businesses.
‘A tariff must serve as a runway for local industry to take off never a permanent shelter from competition’ he said.
The proposed approach suggests that trade protection should help domestic industries develop the capacity to compete rather than shield them indefinitely from market pressures.
Oyedele said the framework would also guide decisions on taxation investment subsidies and other economic interventions to ensure that policies in one area did not undermine progress in another.
He argued that the ultimate objective was to create an economy in which businesses could expand workers could earn better incomes and economic growth could generate wider benefits for the population.
The minister however stressed that the proposed framework had not yet been adopted as government policy and was being presented for public consultation.
He said the consultation would remain open until November 27 2026 with Nigerians invited to examine the document and respond to 17 core questions through the Ministry of Finance’s website finance.gov.ng.
He called on the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) private-sector organisations and other stakeholders to scrutinise the proposals offer alternative views and provide evidence to improve the document.
Following the consultation and validation process the framework is expected to proceed to the Federal Executive Council for approval and the National Economic Council for endorsement according to the minister.
Oyedele said the government wanted the framework to emerge from a broad national consensus rather than be imposed without adequate consultation.
He argued that policies should be developed with the participation of those affected implemented transparently and corrected when evidence shows that changes are necessary.
He warned that even well-intentioned reforms could produce poor results if they lacked consistent principles and effective implementation.
The minister also suggested that national agreement on economic policy could change the nature of political debate with parties focusing more on implementing an agreed economic direction than on presenting competing policy manifestos.
He said Nigeria’s long-term prosperity would depend on its ability to make sound decisions and sustain them across generations.
‘Nigeria has the talent. We have the enterprise. What we must now build together is policy certainty’ he said.
Oyedele urged summit participants and other stakeholders to support the consultation process describing the proposed framework as an opportunity to replace unpredictable economic decisions with a lasting national agreement on how to manage the economy.
He said the initiative’s success would depend on Nigerians’ willingness to contribute evidence challenge proposals where necessary and support policies that deliver lasting economic benefits.