• Says opposition relying on outdated data to discredit reforms
• Insists debt, inflation, GDP, revenue indicators show economy recovering
From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Presidency has launched a spirited defence of President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, dismissing former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s criticism of the administration as misleading, outdated and disconnected from current economic realities.
It also challenged the 2027 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to substantiate his claim that the Federal Government had benefited from an unaccounted oil windfall of N7.98 trillion.
In a statement titled, “Facts, Not Fear: A Point-by-Point Response to Atiku Abubakar on Nigeria’s Reform Journey,” Presidential chief spokesman, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, said Atiku’s assessment of the economy was based largely on developments in 2024 and ignored what he described as measurable improvements recorded since the reforms took effect.
“Democracy thrives on disagreement,” Onanuga said, “but disagreement must be rooted in facts, not frozen snapshots of history.”
He said Atiku’s allegations of fiscal recklessness, excessive borrowing, poor management of fuel subsidy savings and opposition to the administration’s tax reforms painted a distorted picture of the country’s economic trajectory.
According to Onanuga, reforms should not be judged solely by their initial pains but by their long-term outcomes. “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,” he said.
The presidential spokesman argued that Nigeria’s economy had rebounded considerably since the exchange-rate reforms, noting that dollar-denominated Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which fell to about $253 billion after the currency adjustment, had recovered to approximately $377 billion, representing a 49 per cent increase.
He added that the country’s nominal GDP had also expanded from about N314 trillion in 2024 to approximately N530 trillion.
Responding to Atiku’s criticism of the government’s borrowing profile, Onanuga maintained that Nigeria’s debt remained sustainable when assessed against the size of the economy and its revenue-generating capacity.
“Debt, in itself, is not the defining measure of fiscal health,” he said, adding that Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio remained at about 40 per cent, while the debt service-to-revenue ratio had declined from nearly 100 per cent in December 2022 to below 60 per cent under the Tinubu administration.
On the removal of fuel subsidy, the Presidency described the policy as a courageous but necessary decision that previous administrations, including the one in which Atiku served as vice president, failed to implement.
According to Onanuga, ending the subsidy had boosted allocations to states and local governments, enabling greater spending on infrastructure, education, healthcare, salaries and pensions. He also defended the administration’s tax reforms, saying they were designed to reduce the burden on low-income earners and small businesses while ensuring wealthier individuals and profitable companies contributed a fairer share of taxes.
Highlighting achievements in the social sector, Onanuga said more than 3,000 primary healthcare centres had been revitalised, over 78,000 frontline health workers retrained and three world-class cancer centres established in Kubwa, Enugu and Katsina.
He added that more than 100 health facilities now offer free caesarean sections for indigent women.
On education, he said the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) had supported over 1.64 million students, disbursing more than N303 billion across about 300 tertiary institutions.
The presidential aide also credited the administration with restoring stability to public universities by ending the recurring industrial actions that had disrupted academic calendars.
On infrastructure, he pointed to ongoing investments in roads, railways, power, airports, housing and digital connectivity, describing them as critical to Nigeria’s long-term economic transformation.
The Presidency also dismissed Atiku’s claim that the Federal Government had benefited from an unaccounted N7.98 trillion oil windfall, insisting no such windfall existed.
According to Onanuga, although international crude oil prices exceeded budget benchmarks, production remained below projections, while part of Nigeria’s oil output had already been committed to servicing existing loan obligations.
“The production shortfall partly offset the price premium,” he said.
He challenged the former vice president to provide evidence supporting his allegation.
“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 Presidency maintained they were necessary to correct longstanding structural distortions and place the economy on a sustainable path.
Onanuga said inflation, which he noted had dropped to 14.4 per cent in November 2025 before rising to 15.91 per cent following the Middle East conflict, had resumed a downward trajectory and was projected to fall to around 12 per cent by the end of the year.
“Nigeria’s economy is not yet where it aspires to be,” he said. “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 insisted the Tinubu administration would remain focused on deepening reforms, strengthening institutions and expanding economic opportunities despite criticism from the opposition.
(The Sun)
