The Russian-Ukrainian war, according to Nigerian Senate President Godswill Obot Akpabío, is exerting strain on the country’s economy.
Speaking during an interactive session on the 2024–2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper, he emphasized that Nigeria is facing significant financial and socioeconomic pressure from both domestic and international events at the time the 2024–2026 MTEF/FSP is being considered.
Among those in attendance were senior government officials and representatives from a number of the federal government’s Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
Speaking about his first year as MTEF and FSP’s chairman, Akpabio noted that the country’s progress hinged on the 2024–2026 economy.
The meeting we are holding now is historic because it is the first of its kind in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s, GCFR, new government, he said.
The 10th Senate is dedicated to upholding the re-established January–December budget cycle in its constitutional capacity as an appropriations body, which is why the time and anticipated urgency of the proceedings are also related to that purpose.
The unwinnable conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the unexpected conflict between Israel and Palestine are having an impact on the global economy, which might affect our future prospects.
“Moreover, we are currently experiencing the immediate ramifications of critically needed reforms to our foreign exchange system and the equally critical elimination of petroleum product subsidies.”
He asserted that, in the best interests of the country, drastic measures had to be taken to address security concerns and promote job creation and economic expansion.
Although Akpabio acknowledged that Nigerians were experiencing financial difficulty, he expressed optimism that the 2024–2016 MTEF would provide some relief.
While we understand that the majority of our people are now experiencing extremely terrible times in their daily lives, we are quite optimistic that the Nigetherian economy will revive in the medium and long term, providing relief to the majority of our people.
“To achieve this aim, I would want to promote open dialogue on all the indices and parameters found in the 2024–2026 MTEF/FSP. We can’t back down.