President Bola Tinubu has maintained that his administration’s sweeping economic reforms are beginning to yield lasting results, insisting that although the policies have imposed short-term hardship, they are laying the groundwork for sustained national growth and economic competitiveness.
The President spoke on Wednesday while receiving a delegation from Deloitte Africa, led by the firm’s Chief Executive Officer for Africa, Ruwayda Redfearn, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
According to a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the meeting also had in attendance the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele and the Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, Dr. Zacch Adedeji.
Addressing the delegation, Tinubu defended the economic reforms introduced by his administration, acknowledging that they had come with sacrifices but stressing that the long-term benefits were already becoming evident.
“Yes, reforms are difficult. It has not been a McDonald’s customer relationship but a harvester of good things, if implemented well, and that is what we are about.
“The reforms on revenue will continue to stimulate growth. And the effect of the reform? Yes, some issues are difficult, taking the bitter medicine, but it is working well.
“For the economy, Nigeria is making serious foundational progress,” the President said.
Tinubu noted that the reforms had strengthened public finance, enhanced revenue generation, repositioned the country’s financial institutions and improved Nigeria’s prospects in the global economy.
Reflecting on his early professional career, the President also recalled his association with the accounting profession, saying Deloitte played a role in shaping his formative years.
“The family of Deloitte, you just reminded me of my cradle years in accountancy and where I cut my childhood accounting teeth in Chicago.
“Deloitte has a good training programme, and I believe you will continue to reflect that,” he said.
He further encouraged the multinational professional services firm to deepen its engagement in Nigeria by investing more in the country’s youthful workforce through training, recruitment and capacity development.
Earlier, Deloitte Africa CEO, Ruwayda Redfearn, commended the Tinubu administration for its ongoing financial and fiscal reforms and pledged the firm’s support for the government’s economic transformation agenda.
She disclosed that Deloitte, which generated $74 billion in global revenue in 2025 and employs more than 500,000 people worldwide, including over 6,000 across Africa, stands ready to deploy both its local and international expertise in support of Nigeria.
“We are before you to say that we want to serve. We have a local team on the ground that is ready, as well as the global firm, to support you and support your administration as you lead the country,” she said.
Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte West Africa, Yomi Olugbenro, said the administration had established a solid foundation through its reform programme, but stressed that the next challenge was ensuring that the benefits reached ordinary Nigerians.
“We do what we do because of the philosophy that our Africa CEOs talk about, making an impact that matters.
“Where we are at the moment, we believe that the ground has been solidly laid. There is a need to truly extract more value and deliver the dividends of democracy to ordinary Nigerians on the street.
“The bigger work is really about how to cascade some of those big reforms further down,” he said.
Olugbenro added that Deloitte’s extensive experience in supporting economic reforms across different countries would be valuable to Nigeria’s ongoing transformation efforts.
“We have use cases, examples, experiences of how we supported nations all around the world, so Nigeria will definitely benefit from those experiences.
“That is why we are here, and we welcome the invitation as to where exactly you want us to support you,” he stated.
The meeting concluded with renewed commitments from both the Federal Government and Deloitte to strengthen collaboration on fiscal reforms, revenue mobilisation, institutional development and human capital investment, particularly through programmes aimed at equipping Nigerian youths with globally competitive skills.
(Ripples)