The Federal Government says it plans to reduce its dependence on borrowing by investing more in the economy and relying increasingly on domestic resources to fund development.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, stated this during an interview on Bloomberg Television at the ongoing 56th World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
Edun said the government’s current priority is revenue generation and domestic resource mobilisation, stressing that borrowing would no longer be the first option for financing public expenditure.
According to him, while Nigeria still has access to international capital and bond markets if the need arises, the focus remains on strengthening internal revenue sources to ensure fiscal sustainability.
“The issue now is to focus on revenue, focus on domestic resource mobilisation. We’re hoping to rely less on borrowing,” the minister said.
He explained that the government is implementing tax and fiscal reforms aimed at expanding revenue and reducing long-term debt exposure amid growing global economic pressures.
Since assuming office in 2023, President Bola Tinubu’s administration has introduced several economic reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidies, the easing of currency restrictions, and a comprehensive overhaul of the tax framework.
The government’s tax reforms are targeted at increasing revenue to about 18 per cent of gross domestic product by next year, up from roughly 14 per cent currently.
Edun noted that these measures are designed to support long-term economic stability, modernise the economy and boost investor confidence, while reducing reliance on external debt.
Nigeria’s reform efforts have begun to attract positive assessments, with the International Monetary Fund recently upgrading the country’s growth forecast to 4.4 per cent for 2026, despite weaker global oil prices.
The finance minister said Nigeria will use the Davos meeting to engage investors on policy consistency, inflation, foreign exchange stability and fiscal sustainability, as the country debuts its first official national pavilion, Nigeria House Davos, at the forum.
