What Wale Edun said when he was asked about impact of oil price fall 

The sharp fall, driven by a combination of global demand concerns and expanding OPEC+ output, has unsettled investors and raised questions about how Nigeria’s fiscal authorities intend to respond.

But the warnings didn’t come as a surprise to Nigeria’s top economic officials.

Just weeks earlier, at the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington D.C., Finance Minister Wale Edun was asked directly about the implications of falling oil prices on the Nigerian economy.

His response offered insight into how the government views the risks and what it’s doing about them.

Edun explained that while Nigeria’s oil exports to the U.S. were largely unaffected by the recently announced reciprocal tariffs, the global reaction to those tariffs and the uncertainty they introduced had an immediate effect on oil markets.

He added that the pause in implementation of the tariffs later helped ease pressure, with prices rebounding slightly to around $65.

“Still,” he noted, “that price is below Nigeria’s 2025 budget benchmark.” 

To respond to the growing risk, Edun disclosed that the Economic Management Team (EMT), chaired by the President, had quickly set up a subcommittee involving key institutions the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and others—to examine different oil price scenarios and develop response plans.

He indicated that the work of the committee would be escalated to the EMT and then to the Federal Executive Council, where concrete policy responses could be considered.

On the fiscal side, the drop in oil prices comes at a time when Nigeria is already struggling to meet production targets.

Edun said the newly appointed management team at NNPC had been tasked with addressing this.

The country averaged just 1.737 million barrels per day in January and 1.672 million in February—well below the 2.06 million bpd assumption in the 2025 budget.

Edun also noted that Nigeria’s fiscal strategy was evolving—from a past focus on external concessional financing and Eurobonds to a more robust push for domestic revenue mobilisation. 

He also said that going forward, Nigeria is relying on

Meanwhile, in a troubling turn for oil-dependent economies like Nigeria, crude prices plunged further on Monday, hitting multi-year lows and deepening fears of a looming global supply glut.

Meanwhile, in a troubling turn for oil-dependent economies like Nigeria, crude prices plunged further on Monday, hitting multi-year lows and deepening fears of a looming global supply glut.

The drop followed OPEC+’s surprise decision to fast-track its output hikes—an aggressive move that has rattled markets already grappling with weak demand signals and mounting economic uncertainty.

Brent crude collapsed to $60.23 per barrel, shedding $1.06 or 1.7%, while U.S. WTI tumbled to $57.13, down $1.16 or 2%.

Both benchmarks closed at their lowest levels since February 2021, underscoring just how fast the market is unraveling.