The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has revealed that the country’s foreign reserves have seen a net inflow of approximately $2.35 billion in the first seven months of 2024.
The minister made this known in Lagos State during the Corporate Customers Forum on Thursday.
Edun attributed the gain in reserves and currency stability to the government’s proactive economic policies.
Furthermore, the minister highlighted some areas that require attention, including Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio, which remains low at around 10%, and the revenue-to-GDP ratio, which stands at 15%.
Edun called for increased spending on infrastructure and social safety nets to address these figures.
His words: “We have relative currency stability. And, of course, the all-important margin of the rates. We’ve seen a gradual elimination of multiple exchange rates.
“We also have foreign exchange liquidity. The gross reserves are up. There has been a net inflow in the first seven months of this year of about $2.35 billion every month.
Minister Edun continued: “On the fiscal side as well, government revenues are growing, and the key to government revenue is not so much that government has revenue to compete with the private sector.
“It’s the fundamentals, the social spending, and the key infrastructure spending. The social safety net spending. Historically, our figures are low. Our tax-to-GDP ratio is as low as 10%. Our revenue-to-GDP ratio is also around 15%.”