Nigeria concluded its participation in the 2026 Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank Group in Bangkok with a call to turn hard-won stability into faster, job-creating growth.
Led by the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, the delegation presented evidence of reform results: growth of about 4.4 per cent in Q2 2026, four consecutive months of falling inflation, reserves above US$55 billion, a tax-to-GDP ratio of 12.5 per cent and debt at 36 per cent of GDP.
Key outcomes included:
Launch of Projects Nigeria: 65 bankable projects worth about US$78.5 billion, with expressions of interest from Asian and European investors;
World Bank Group support for power and infrastructure through guarantee instruments;
Continued IMF technical support on fiscal governance, fiscal transparency and statistics;
Commitments from JICA, the US Treasury and the European Union to deepen cooperation;
Conclusion of Nigeria's G-24 chairmanship, advancing calls for a quota-based IMF, fairer credit ratings and cheaper finance for developing countries.
The Minister, in a statement by the Director Press, Federal Ministry of Finance, warned that artificial intelligence could deliver growth without jobs as 1.2 billion young people enter the global labour market over the next 10 to 15 years, against some 400 million jobs, according to the World Bank.
He urged the Bretton Woods institutions to measure success by jobs created.
"Stability was the first test. Growth that employs our people is the second," the Minister said.
He confirmed there would be no return to fuel subsidies or multiple exchange rates.