From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Presidency on Sunday mounted a robust defence of President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, dismissing former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s criticism of the administration as outdated, misleading and detached from current economic realities.
In a lengthy statement titled, “Facts, Not Fear: A Point-by-Point Response to Atiku Abubakar on Nigeria’s Reform Journey,” Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, accused Atiku of relying on “yesterday’s data” to paint a distorted picture of the country’s economic situation.
He argued that while democracy thrives on disagreement, such disagreements “must be rooted in facts, not frozen snapshots of history.”
“Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, in his typical pastime, has accused the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of fiscal recklessness, citing excess borrowing in the 2024 budget, questioning the removal of fuel subsidy, criticising tax reforms, concocting an oil windfall of N7.98 trillion, and suggesting that Nigeria is drifting economically,” Onanuga said.
He added: “His concerns, though misplaced, deserve a response—not because criticisms should be silenced—but because Nigerians should have a fuller picture of where the country is today.”
The presidential spokesman faulted Atiku’s reliance on developments from 2024 to assess the current state of the economy, insisting that the country has recorded significant progress since the painful reforms were introduced.
“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 said.
According to him, “Judging a reform programme solely by its earliest and most painful phase is like judging chemotherapy by the nausea it induces while ignoring the remission it seeks to achieve.”
Onanuga claimed that Nigeria’s economy had rebounded significantly from the immediate impact of the exchange-rate reforms.
He said, “The Nigerian economy that underwent painful adjustment in 2024 has evolved considerably… Following the exchange-rate reset, Nigeria’s dollar-denominated GDP fell to about $253 billion… Since then… it has recovered significantly to approximately $377 billion, representing an increase of roughly 49 per cent.”
He also stated that the country’s naira GDP had expanded from about ₦314 trillion in 2024 to approximately ₦530 trillion.
Responding to allegations of excessive borrowing, Onanuga argued that Nigeria’s debt profile remained sustainable when measured against the size of the economy and its revenue capacity.
“Debt, in itself, is not the defining measure of fiscal health. What matters are the size of the economy, our revenue-generating capacity, debt servicing costs, the purposes for which funds are borrowed, and whether borrowed resources finance productive investments or recurrent consumption,” he said.
He maintained that Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio remains “barely 40 per cent,” describing it as relatively modest compared to several emerging and advanced economies.
The presidential spokesman further claimed that the Tinubu administration had reduced the debt service-to-revenue ratio from nearly 100 per cent in December 2022 to less than 60 per cent.
“This is a remarkable achievement that shows that Nigeria’s revenue efficiency has improved, while debt management remains conservative and astute,” he said.
On the controversial removal of fuel subsidy, Onanuga defended the policy, describing it as a courageous decision previous administrations, including the one in which Atiku served as vice president, failed to take.
“The current administration deserves commendation for being able to get rid of something that has become a lodestone around the neck of our collective patrimony,” he stated.
He argued that the policy had significantly increased allocations to states and local governments through the Federation Account, enabling subnational governments to spend more on infrastructure, healthcare, education, salaries and pensions.
Onanuga also rejected Atiku’s criticism of the administration’s tax reforms, insisting they were designed to reduce the burden on low-income earners and small businesses while ensuring wealthier individuals and profitable companies paid their fair share.
“The objective of the tax reforms is not merely to increase collections but to create a broader, more equitable tax system,” he said.
“The underlying principle is that those with greater capacity should bear a larger share of the tax burden, while micro-enterprises and vulnerable households receive greater protection.”
Highlighting achievements in the health sector, Onanuga said over 3,000 primary healthcare centres had been revitalised, more than 78,000 frontline health workers retrained, while three world-class cancer centres were now operational in Kubwa, Enugu and Katsina.
He added that more than 100 health facilities now provide free caesarean operations for indigent mothers.
On education, the presidential spokesman said the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) had provided financial support to over 1.64 million students, with more than ₦303 billion disbursed through 300 higher institutions.
He also credited the Tinubu administration with restoring stability to public universities.
“President Tinubu has seen to an end to strikes by university lecturers, such that a four-year programme does not go beyond four years, a great relief to students and parents,” he said.
On infrastructure, Onanuga pointed to ongoing investments in roads, railways, power, airports, housing and digital connectivity, insisting that stronger public investment was laying the foundation for long-term economic growth.
He also dismissed Atiku’s claim that the government had benefited from an unaccounted oil windfall of ₦7.98 trillion.
“There is no such windfall of N7.98 trillion,” he said, explaining that although crude oil prices had exceeded budget benchmarks, production levels remained below projections, while some oil production had already been committed to servicing previous loan obligations.
“The production shortfall partly offset the price premium,” he explained.
He challenged the former vice president to substantiate his claim.
“Atiku will do well to show the workings for his N7.98 trillion oil windfall,” Onanuga said.
While acknowledging that the reforms had imposed hardships on Nigerians, the presidential spokesman insisted they were necessary to correct longstanding structural distortions.
“President Tinubu’s administration has chosen to dismantle several long-standing policy distortions that previous governments acknowledged but often deferred,” he said.
“The reforms have carried undeniable costs, and legitimate questions remain about implementation, inflation, and social protection. Yet describing the entire programme as ‘financial recklessness’ overlooks the broader context of structural change, fiscal rebalancing, and efforts to improve macroeconomic stability.”
He maintained that inflation, which he said had fallen to 14.4 per cent in November 2025 before rising to 15.91 per cent due to the Middle East conflict, had resumed a downward trend and was projected to fall to about 12 per cent by the end of the year.
Onanuga concluded that despite remaining challenges, the Tinubu administration was laying the foundation for long-term prosperity.
“Nigeria’s economy is not yet where it aspires to be. But neither is it where it stood at the height of its structural distortions or in the bygone years of fiscal waste and slackness,” he said.
“The fundamental reforms will continue to expand opportunity, strengthen institutions, and deliver tangible improvements in the lives of Nigerians. That is the focus of President Tinubu. All else is an attempt by political carpetbaggers to gain attention.”
(The Sun)