Finance Minister Wale Edun Ends Budget Extensions, Pushes for Fiscal Discipline

Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, has announced that the era of extending national budgets beyond their fiscal year has come to an end.

Speaking during a plenary session titled “The Reform Imperative: Building a Prosperous and Inclusive Nigeria by 2030” at the 31st Nigerian Economic Summit (NES #31) in Abuja on Tuesday, Edun said the decision was part of efforts to restore fiscal discipline and orderliness in public finance management.

“No more extensions of budget into the next year, which has created so much confusion in the system,” he said. “We have talked to the National Assembly and we have agreed to restore normalcy in that space.”

The minister also disclosed that the Federal Government would shift its borrowing strategy away from eurobonds toward more sustainable instruments such as sukuk, green bonds, and diaspora bonds.

Edun noted that transparency in government finances had improved, revealing that the Federal Government only gained full visibility of its accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as of August 1.

“We are determined to bring all Federal Government funds into visibility,” he said. “There is a lot of Federal Government money lying outside of the CBN.”

He added that a new federal billing system has been implemented to accurately track payments for goods and services.

On inflation control, the minister emphasized that the fight begins with fiscal authorities. He said government spending would now focus on productivity-enhancing sectors to boost growth and reduce inflationary pressure.

Edun highlighted that key economic reforms — including foreign exchange unification and the removal of fuel subsidies — have released about five per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) into the Federation Account, benefiting all tiers of government.

According to him, “the federation funds allocation to states has increased by about 111 per cent,” reflecting the fiscal gains from the ongoing reforms.

Opinion Nigeria News