The Federal Government has proposed policy impact assessments before major changes to taxes, tariffs and economic regulations, as it seeks to reduce abrupt decisions that disrupt business planning.
Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele presented the draft Nigeria Economic Policy Framework at the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja on Monday, 26 October. The proposal would require policymakers to explain the evidence and costs behind major interventions.
The framework remains a consultation document. It has not been adopted as government policy, and the proposed assessments are not an existing requirement arising from Monday’s presentation.
Under the proposal, an intervention would have to identify the problem it seeks to solve, the evidence supporting the response, its intended beneficiaries and those who would bear the costs. It would also need to state the conditions under which the measure should end.
The requirement would cover measures including tax adjustments, tariff changes, regulatory restrictions and incentives. Fiscal effects, consequences for businesses, implementation capacity, risks, performance indicators and review dates are among the matters envisaged for a policy impact statement.
The Finance Ministry’s resource library lists the framework’s public consultation document and an accompanying consultation deck, dated 24 October. The ministry describes the exercise as an invitation to Nigerians, businesses, organisations and partners to help shape enduring economic decision rules.
Oyedele said inconsistent decisions and weak implementation had undermined earlier reforms. He argued that unexpected regulations, limited consultation and inadequate evidence increased uncertainty and discouraged businesses from investing and creating jobs.
He also called for closer coordination between government institutions, saying enterprises face the combined effects of decisions taken by different ministries and agencies.
The framework groups economic priorities into seven areas: stability, productivity, enterprise, capital, people, markets and institutions. Its guiding principles include private enterprise, open but fair markets and coordination across government.
Oyedele said the government’s role would include providing public goods, maintaining the rule of law, addressing market failures and protecting vulnerable groups.
On industrial policy, he said tariffs should allow domestic industries to develop the capacity to compete. Protection should not become an indefinite shield for inefficient businesses.
The proposals include an annual National Economic Scorecard, to be published on or before 1 October. It would track real wages, productive employment and poverty, alongside broader economic performance.
Oyedele said improvements in household incomes, jobs and business productivity should be central to judging economic progress. He argued that aggregate growth alone did not adequately describe whether living standards were improving.
At a summit panel, the minister also raised the possibility of backing agreed economic principles with legislation, according to Punch’s account of his remarks. He said the consultation would ask whether the framework should be enacted into law and how institutions could be strengthened.
He suggested that an agreed framework could inform the screening of public appointees and accompany appointment letters. These were proposals discussed at the summit, rather than rules already introduced for government appointments.
The draft is expected to go to the Federal Executive Council for approval and the National Economic Council for endorsement after consultation and validation. Oyedele invited stakeholders to respond to 17 consultation questions through the Finance Ministry’s website, with responses due by 27 November.
Archival photograph: Federal Ministry of Finance headquarters, Abuja, January 2018. Naziftm / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Display versions resized. This image does not show the October 2026 summit.
