Oyedele unveils draft economic framework to end policy reversals

The Federal Government has presented a draft National Economic Policy Framework meant to keep economic decisions steady no matter which administration is in power. The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, unveiled it on Monday at the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja.

The summit theme was “Growth that Works: Delivering Jobs, Productivity and Shared Prosperity.”

Oyedele said Nigeria's problem is not a shortage of plans. Over four decades, he said, the country has produced many blueprints and reform programmes without the prosperity expected from them. The missing piece, he argued, is an enduring economic philosophy and disciplined implementation.

He said frequent policy reversals, weak consultation and decisions not backed by credible data have weakened businesses, discouraged investment and limited job creation.

“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 also said governments come and go, but Nigeria's economic direction should outlast every election cycle.

What the framework proposes

Oyedele said the document is not a development plan, a list of capital projects or a political manifesto. He described it as a national economic doctrine to guide how government makes economic decisions and measures their impact.

It rests on seven connected systems: stability, productivity, enterprise, capital, people, markets and institutions. These, he said, must work together, backed by infrastructure, logistics, education and healthcare.

He listed three principles he called non-negotiable. Private enterprise should drive production and jobs. Markets should be open but fair, with tariffs helping local industries become competitive rather than shielding them permanently. And government agencies should weigh the combined effect of their policies on businesses.

On protection, he said a tariff “must serve as a runway for local industry to take off, never a permanent shelter from competition.”

The draft also proposes mandatory policy impact assessments before major interventions such as tax changes, tariff adjustments and new regulations. Each assessment would state the problem, the evidence, who benefits, who bears the cost and when the measure ends.

It also proposes an annual National Economic Scorecard, published on or before October 1, tracking real wages, productive jobs and poverty reduction. “What gets publicly measured cannot be quietly ignored,” Oyedele said.

He stressed that GDP growth alone is not enough. “GDP growth matters, but per capita income matters even more,” he said, adding that real investment in productive capacity counts more than announced commitments.

What happens next

The framework is still a consultation draft and has not been approved as government policy. Public consultation runs until November 27, 2026, with Nigerians invited to answer 17 core questions through the Ministry of Finance website, finance.gov.ng.

After that, it will go to the Federal Executive Council for approval and the National Economic Council for endorsement. Oyedele urged the Nigerian Economic Summit Group and private sector stakeholders to scrutinise the draft and offer evidence-based recommendations.

For ordinary Nigerians, the promise is a more predictable environment for businesses to plan, expand and hire. Whether that translates into jobs and better pay will depend on how the final framework is applied.