Oyedele: N30trn Printed Money Is Fueling Nigeria’s Inflation

Taiwo Oyedele said on Tuesday that about N30 trillion printed naira is behind Nigeria’s current high inflation. He spoke at the 56th Annual Accountants’ Conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria in Abuja.

Oyedele, described as minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, said without the Tinubu administration’s reforms Nigeria would be facing inflation in the thousands of per cent, as happened in Zimbabwe. He said the government had run out of dollars and naira before the reforms began.

Printed money showing up

“We printed plenty of Naira. 30 trillion Naira was printed,” Oyedele said. He said the inflation Nigerians face today, including higher grain prices, is that N30 trillion “showing up.” “It doesn’t show up immediately. It takes time,” he said.

He described the reforms as a complete reset of the economy. Without them, he argued, Nigeria would be dealing with inflation in the thousands of per cent. He cited Zimbabwe, where inflation was measured in millions of per cent, and Venezuela, where he said people carried money in trucks to buy food.

Oyedele acknowledged that transport, rent and food prices have risen. He said the government’s focus is to raise incomes faster than inflation. He argued that policies that suppress prices distort markets and cause shortages. Government, he said, should regulate markets responsibly and raise incomes.

Pre-reform FX crisis

He recalled the foreign exchange crisis before the reforms. Young people could not pay for online apps with their cards. Manufacturers’ letters of credit were not honoured abroad. Only the highly connected could access dollars. He said airlines such as Emirates questioned the point of flying to Nigeria when they could not repatriate earnings.

Oyedele said the government had produced scorecards tracking subsidy-removal savings and how they were shared among the three tiers of government. The biggest expense line, he said, was salary increases and wage awards. He cited the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, which he said supports about 1.5 million students, and subsidised credit for small businesses through the Bank of Industry.

Accountants and accountability

He challenged accountants to scrutinise government spending. “Citizens are entitled to ask what we collected, what we spent, and what they receive in return,” he said. He called for stronger institutions, transparent financial reporting and effective accountability. He cited a memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria as coordination guided by procedure, not personal relationships.

On social protection, he said the government was using digital systems linked to the National Identification Number, tax records and other verified data to identify vulnerable households. He said millions of households had been supported and that the World Bank had acknowledged improvements.

ICAN President and Chairman of Council Hajia Queensley Seghosime said trust is the foundation of every economy. She called for policies that outlive political cycles as Nigeria heads toward the 2027 general elections. She said the economy recorded growth of about 4.2 per cent in the first half of 2026. She welcomed delegates on behalf of the institute’s more than 72,000 members. About 12,000 delegates registered physically and virtually. The conference theme is “Beyond Numbers: Strengthening the Economy, Securing the Nation.”

Seghosime said public confidence in financial statements, public accounts and the tax system rests largely on the integrity of chartered accountants. “Every report we prepare, every audit we sign and every piece of advice we give is a promise to the public that the numbers can be believed,” she said. On artificial intelligence, she said machines cannot carry the moral responsibility of a signature.