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Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Legal Affairs and Justice, Economic Planning, and Private Sector Development, Hon. Dr. Godwin Friday, on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, charted the country’s path to fiscal restoration. The Minister of Finance presented a stern assessment of the nation’s fiscal health conducted six months after the new administration took office. To improve accountability and efficiency, Dr. Friday stated that the government requires all state-owned enterprises to complete outstanding audits.

“One reason for the poor state of affairs in our country is the systemic failure within our state-owned enterprises. We recently assessed twelve (12) of these entities, and the results were deeply concerning. We found governance issues such as failures, the lack of audited financial reports, and no basic planning for the future in most cases,” the Minister of Economic Planning stated. Accordingly, Dr. Friday announced that his administration will introduce merit-based management and recruitment systems; conduct a comprehensive review to streamline government expenditure; and implement an updated fiscal responsibility framework that will eventually be placed on a statutory basis.

“Responsible leadership means balancing the books while protecting the vulnerable. We have development investments while sustaining necessary social programmes. That is why we are committed to the measures to reduce the high cost of living on households and to ease the pain on our people,” Prime Minister Friday emphasised.

The Prime Minister said the intended reforms will strengthen governance, improve transparency, and ensure responsible management of public resources.

SOURCE: Agency For Public Information (API)