Tinubu Govt Reveals Plans To De-dollarize Nigerian Economy

The federal government, under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, has disclosed that plans are ongoing to significantly reduce the use of dollars in the Nigerian economy.

According to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, the focus of the current administration is to de-dollarise the Nigerian economy and strengthen the local currency.

Naija News reports Edun made this known on Wednesday while speaking at a Global Investors’ Forum on the sidelines of the World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meeting in Washington DC.

He said the move is part of the economic reforms embarked upon by the Tinubu administration.

“There is also a move to de-dollarise the Nigerian economy,” Edun said, adding that local providers of services, regulators, and others are being asked to “invoice in Naira rather than dollars.”

“It reduces the value for dollar and of course increases the demand for Naira,” he explained.

The Minister also highlighted that the removal of subsidies on petrol and foreign exchange would make more funds available to the government for other projects.

“I think we must not miss the fact that the number one source of foreign exchange revenue to Nigeria is oil production and they are facing the direction that is positive and should yield very good results in the near time,” he added.

Naija News reports that according to J.P. Morgan, “De-dollarisation entails a significant reduction in the use of dollars in world trade and financial transactions, decreasing national, institutional and corporate demand for the greenback.”