By Bassey Udo
A Ministerial Advisory Committee to drive economic policymaking and accelerate implementation of ongoing fiscal reforms was inaugurated on Tuesday by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele.
The Committee composed of eminent economists, seasoned business leaders, public and private finance and development experts, top industry executives and the academia was charged with the responsibilities of providing independent, evidence-based, and constructive external counseling to the government on economic policy and coordination, public finance management and translating reforms into results.
At the inauguration in Abuja, the Minister described the committee as a public-policy-private partnership designed to improve economic decision-making and deliver measurable benefits to Nigerians.
Highlighting the various reforms embarked upon by the government, including the removal of fuel subsidies, the unification of the exchange rate, and the comprehensive tax reforms, the Minister noted that these have imposed real, immediate costs on households, businesses, and communities, requiring the government to focus its attention on accelerating how they translate into tangible results.
“It is one thing to make or change policy; it is quite another to translate that change into outcomes ordinary Nigerians can feel. The true measure of reform is not the number of policies announced or macroeconomic indicators cited.
“It is the number of jobs created, whether real income is rising, inflation declining, the Naira stable, and businesses investing with confidence. It is about the number of lives improved. That is the support this Committee has been established to provide,” he said.
Oyedele said the committee, which would serve only in an advisory capacity without exercising executive authority or replacing statutory institutions, would critically assess the impact of government policies on businesses and communities and recommend timely adjustments where necessary.
He challenged members of the committee to rigorous and bold in their recommendations by ensuring their advice were grounded in hard evidence, not intuition, populism or political convenience.
“Data should illuminate your choices, not merely justify predetermined outcomes. Do not be constrained by conventional thinking. We do not need this Committee to validate what we (the government) have already decided.
“We need you to challenge our assumptions, point out the trade-offs we might be papering over, and tell us the truths we may not want to hear. Healthy, fact-based disagreement is not a weakness; it is an advantage,”he said.
Nothing that Nigeria’s fiscal challenges were technically intricate, the Minister said the role of the committee was to take complex macroeconomic questions and translate them into actionable insight.
“What does a change in import tariff mean for a small manufacturer? How does tax reform impact a trader in Alaba Lagos or Kantin Kwari market in Kano? The best advice in the world is worthless if it cannot be clearly understood and acted upon by those who need it most,” he said.
Besides, he asked the committee to stay connected to reality by interacting with all sectors of the economy, including manufacturers, exporters, and everyday citizens to understand where government policies were creating friction and how they could be adjusted to open doors for the people.
Reaffirming government’s target of achieving seven per cent annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth and building one trillion-dollar economy by 2030, the Minister reminded the committee that achieving these targets required innovative thinking, stronger institutions and closer collaboration between government and the private sector.
While commending members of the committee for accepting to serve on a pro-bono basis as part of their patriotic duty to the nation, the Minister assured them that their recommendations would directly inform ministerial decisions to guide presidential policy direction.
The minister enjoined the committee to remain objective, challenge assumptions and base recommendations on credible evidence rather than political considerations.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary Finance (PSF), Mr Raymond Omachi, described the committee as a strategic platform for evidence-based economic policymaking, adding that members were expected to provide strategic advice on fiscal reforms, government efficiency, stakeholder engagement and economic coordination.
He said the committee would support efforts to improve fiscal sustainability, strengthen public confidence and advance Nigeria’s economic transformation agenda.
The Chairman of the Committee, who is also the Managing Director of Sterling Bank PLC, Abubakar Suleiman, pledged to ensure that practical, actionable recommendations were made at the end of their assignment to support the country’s economic management.
Suleiman said with the understanding of its mandate the committee would avoid producing theoretical reports or recommendations already known to government,adding that its members would focus on practical, implementable and timely solutions to meet the Minister’s expectations.
He said the committee would create time to explore emerging ideas to allow the government concentrate on managing the nation’s economy.
