Okonjo-Iweala urges Tinubu to cushion economic reforms with safety nets for poor Nigerians
Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has called on the Federal Government to introduce social safety nets to ease the hardship faced by poor Nigerians amid President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms.
Speaking to State House correspondents on Thursday after meeting the president at the Aso Villa, Abuja, Okonjo-Iweala commended the government for removing petrol subsidies and unifying foreign exchange windows, describing the reforms as steps in the right direction for stabilising the economy. However, she stressed the need to protect vulnerable citizens from the rising cost of living.
“What is needed next is growth; we now need to grow the economy and we need to put in social safety nets so that people who are feeling the pinch of the reforms can also have some support to weather the hardship,” she said.
Since Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, his reform policies have drawn criticism, with many Nigerians blaming soaring food prices and inflation on the subsidy removal and exchange rate unification. The measures have triggered protests nationwide, including the #EndBadGovernance demonstrations in August 2024.
The meeting came two weeks before the end of Okonjo-Iweala’s first term as WTO chief on August 31, 2025, ahead of her second term beginning September 1, 2025. The former finance minister, accompanied by Trade Minister Jumoke Oduwole, also briefed the president on the Women’s Exporters’ Fund for the digital economy.
The initiative, jointly managed by the WTO and the International Trade Centre, aims to empower Nigerian women entrepreneurs through direct financial support and training. Out of 67,000 Nigerian applicants, 146 women were selected, with 16 set to receive long-term technical and business support, while another 100 will each get $5,000 to grow their businesses.
