- ‘Nigeria’s Economy Is Improving’ – Presidency Rejects Atiku’s Claims
- Government says reforms improved revenue, GDP, debt sustainability and public investments.
- Presidency acknowledges short term hardship while promising continued economic reforms nationwide.
The Presidency has defended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic policies against criticism from former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, insisting that the administration’s reforms are producing positive results despite the challenges faced by Nigerians.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports it also rejected allegations of fiscal recklessness, excessive borrowing and mismanagement of public funds, describing Atiku’s claims as misleading and based on outdated economic data.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, stated the government’s position in a statement issued on Saturday titled, “Facts, Not Fear: A Point-by-Point Response to Atiku Abubakar on Nigeria’s Reform Journey.”
Onanuga accused the former vice president of relying heavily on economic indicators from 2024 without taking into account developments recorded since then.
“Politics thrives on disagreement. Democracy demands it. But disagreements must be rooted in facts, not frozen snapshots of history,” he said.
“When yesterday’s data are presented as today’s reality, the public deserves context.”
The presidential spokesman argued that economic reforms should be assessed over time, rather than judged solely by conditions recorded at the beginning of their implementation.
“Perhaps the first observation is chronological. It is curious that in the middle of 2026, the opposition’s principal economic argument remains anchored to developments in the 2024 fiscal year. Economies are dynamic. Reforms are processes, not events,” he added.
According to Onanuga, Nigeria’s economy has improved following the foreign exchange reforms introduced by the Tinubu administration.
He claimed that the country’s dollar denominated Gross Domestic Product increased from about $253 billion after the exchange rate adjustment to approximately $377 billion. He added that the naira value of the economy rose from about ₦314 trillion in 2024 to around ₦530 trillion.
On the country’s debt burden, the Presidency argued that debt sustainability was more important than the total amount borrowed.
“On the matter of Nigeria’s debts, it is important to ask a broader question: What is Nigeria’s capacity to sustain her debt? For debt, in itself, is not the defining measure of fiscal health,” Onanuga said.
He maintained that Nigeria’s debt to GDP ratio remained around 40 per cent, which he described as relatively low compared with several African and developed economies.
The Presidency also defended the removal of fuel subsidy, saying the policy had significantly increased revenue allocations to state and local governments.
According to Onanuga, the additional funds had enabled subnational governments to invest more in infrastructure, education, healthcare and other development programmes.
“The visible consequence of subsidy removal has been the sharp improvement in revenues accruing to states and local governments through the Federation Account,” he said.
On tax reforms, the Presidency dismissed claims that the government had increased the tax burden on Nigerians.
“The objective of the tax reforms is not merely to increase collections but to create a broader, more equitable tax system,” Onanuga stated.
He said the reforms were designed to reduce the burden on low income earners and small businesses while improving compliance among wealthier individuals and profitable companies.
The Presidency also rejected Atiku’s claim that the Federal Government benefited from an alleged ₦7.98 trillion oil windfall.
Onanuga said the calculation failed to account for production costs, the share of crude allocated to oil companies and existing crude sale agreements.
“There is no such windfall of ₦7.98 trillion,” he said.
“The convenient mistake many analysts make is to multiply the oil price by the daily crude production volume to determine revenue to the government.”
He added that crude backed loan obligations and lower than expected oil production had reduced government revenue despite favourable global oil prices.
The Presidency further highlighted what it described as progress in healthcare, education and social intervention programmes.
According to Onanuga, the government has upgraded more than 3,000 primary healthcare centres, retrained over 78,000 frontline health workers and disbursed more than ₦303 billion through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund to over 1.64 million students across 300 tertiary institutions.
Onanuga acknowledged that the reforms had created short term hardships but maintained that they were laying the foundation for long term economic stability.
“History rarely remembers governments for the popularity of their decisions in the moment. It remembers whether those decisions ultimately strengthened or weakened the nation,” he said.
He added that although the economy had not reached the administration’s desired destination, the Tinubu government would continue implementing reforms aimed at expanding opportunities, strengthening institutions and improving the living standards of Nigerians.
