By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, has claimed that Nigeria’s foreign reserves grew by $4 billion in seven months between January and July 2024.
He disclosed this while wooing investors at a Thursday meeting organised by the Debt Management Office (DMO) for the issuance of the $500 million local bond set to kick off on Monday, August 19.
He said that the aggregate federal government revenue had doubled due to the implementation of robust fiscal policies and reforms aimed at enhancing revenue collection efficiency across various sectors which were responsible for the improvement.
According to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the external reserves reached $35.05 billion as of July 2024.
The CBN also said it planned to double the diasporas’ remittance through a steady flow of foreign exchange into the country.
According to Mr Edun, the macroeconomic reforms of the President Bola Tinubu administration have begun yielding fruits.
He said that targeted interventions were being implemented across the§ country.
“In macroeconomic reforms, the pains come first before the benefits. There have been interventions that gave direct payments to individuals.
“The process was difficult at first, but with technology and determination, it has been increased.
“Last month, a million households representing five million people received their payments. That will be maintained and increased,” he said.
He said that small-scale businesses were getting funds at an interest rate of nine per cent per annum.
The Minister also said that the N70,000 minimum wage and wage adjustment for certain categories of government workers on the consolidated salary structure would soon be implemented.
“The minimum wage is a law and is just about following the law. Fiscal autonomy for Local Government Councils is also an aspect that the law deals with,” he said.