Tinubu claims economic reforms working, opposition disagrees

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and others, have launched a blistering attack on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration as it marks its second anniversary in office.

Tinubu, however, praised the progress trajectory of his administration, claiming that economic reforms are bringing positive outcomes . On the Speaking the milestone he claimed he has achieved, he asserted, “I proudly affirm that our economic reforms are working. We are on course to building a greater, more economically stable nation.”

The president highlighted the achievements under his Renewed Hope Agenda, stressing the administration’s commitment to tackling economic instability, improving security, reducing corruption, reforming governance, and alleviating poverty. Tinubu agreed there were difficulties faced by Nigerians during the reform period but stated that the measures were necessary to avert fiscal collapse.

“The only alternative to the reforms our administration initiated was a fiscal crisis that would have bred runaway inflation, external debt default, crippling fuel shortages, a plunging naira, and an economy in free-fall,” Tinubu stated.

Despite challenges, the president highlighted key achievements. He noted that inflation has begun to ease, with prices of staples like rice declining, while the oil and gas sector has seen a 400 per cent rise in rig counts since 2021 and secured over $8 billion in new investments.

Tinubu pointed out that Nigeria’s fiscal deficit has been significantly reduced, from 5.4 per cent of GDP in 2023 to 3.0 per cent in 2024, through improved revenue generation and financial transparency. He revealed that the government recorded over N6 trillion in revenue in the first quarter of 2025.

“We have discontinued Ways & Means financing, which has been a major contributor to high and sticky inflation. The NNPC, no longer burdened by unsustainable fuel subsidies, is now a net contributor to the Federation Account. We are also achieving fuel supply security through local refining,” he said.

On the country’s debt profile, Tinubu remarked that while foreign exchange revaluation raised the debt-to-GDP ratio to 53 per cent, the debt service-to-revenue ratio had dropped to under 40 per cent by 2024, compared to nearly 100 per cent in 2022. Additionally, the administration paid off International Monetary Fund (IMF) obligations and increased net external reserves from $4 billion in 2023 to over $23 billion by the end of 2024.

PDP in a statement released yesterday through its national publicity secretary, Mr Debo Ologunagba, accused the government of plunging the nation into severe economic and social turmoil. The party highlighted soaring inflation, rising unemployment, and a deteriorating national security landscape.

“Nigerians have gone through hell under the insensitive Tinubu-led APC government, which evidentially holds no good for the citizens,” the PDP declared. “This administration is anti-people and impervious to the suffering of Nigerians.”

The party painted a grim picture of the nation’s current state, citing a surge in petrol prices from N87 per litre under the PDP to over N1,000 per litre, a plummeting naira now trading at over N1,600 to the dollar compared to N167 under previous administrations, inflation nearing 40 per cent, and youth unemployment exceeding 42 per cent.

The statement added, “Food scarcity, widespread poverty, and social unrest are reaching critical levels, while more than 600,000 Nigerians have reportedly lost their lives to insecurity since May 2023.”

Hunger Index, the group emphasised Nigeria’s worsening food insecurity. It revealed that the country now ranks 18th among the most hunger-stricken nations globally, surpassing Sudan as Africa’s epicentre of child malnutrition.