Nigeria’s Economic Performance under President Tinubu’s Leadership

Nigeria’s President rose to power on the mantra of a Renewed Hope Agenda with a vow to expand the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth by at least 6% a year, lift barriers to investment, create jobs, and unify the exchange rate, while also tackling the insecurity challenges in the country.

It was at a time when Nigeria was caught between challenges and opportunities.  However, a huge debt burden, shortages of foreign exchange, fuel shortages, a weak naira, the Nigerian currency with nearly two-decades-high inflation, skeletal power supplies, and falling crude oil production due to crude theft and underinvestment in the sector constituted a drag on the country’s economic growth.

President Tinubu began his journey to rebuild the country’s economy with the bold step of removing the premium motor spirit (petrol) subsidy. Many economic analysts have described the provision of subsidy in Nigeria’s budget as unsustainable as it continually dug a hole in public finance rendering the three tiers of government near insolvent and incapable of meeting the urgent needs of the citizens.

Recognizing the impact of the various distortions in the foreign exchange market on the value of the naira and its pass-through effects on prices of goods and services, President Tinubu took steps to unify the multiple foreign exchange rates.

While these two vital steps to save the country brought about discomfort to Nigerians, President Tinubu has never failed in his appeal to Nigerians to see the current inconveniences as a price all citizens must pay to save the country.

To alleviate the pains, the government rolled out intervention programs to help cushion the negative impacts by setting up a committee to work out a minimum wage and salary increase, supporting states and local governments to enable them to cater to the most vulnerable, providing fertilizers to farmers, grains to households and making cash transfers to people with low incomes amongst others.

Nigeria’s President did not only focus on immediate solutions but placed a premium on removing the impediments to productivity and competitiveness by addressing structural impediments, fostering sustainable development, and ensuring equitable distribution of resources necessary to unlocking Nigeria’s economic prosperity and fulfilling the aspirations of its citizens so that the real sectors can grow and create jobs that are essential for long term economic growth.

President Tinubu also declared a state of emergency on food security, stating that all matters about food and water availability and affordability, as essential livelihood items, be included within the purview of the National Security Council for urgent attention by the government.

To further enhance productivity, the administration is implementing a tax reform, which is designed for the revitalization of revenue generation in Nigeria while sustaining an investment-friendly and globally competitive business environment.  The government also launched the National Single Window initiative, a transformative project designed to revolutionize the way trade is conducted in the country by simplifying government trade compliance through a digital platform.

President Tinubu’s economic policies and strategies reflect a blend of achievements, challenges, and opportunities that must be confronted for the desired accelerated development in Nigeria.

The progress so far made in some critical sectors based on the renewed hope agenda implementation strategies should be used as a template for assessing the key performance indicators for the real sector to face some of the hurdles that persist.

Nigeria could achieve most of the set targets with the stakeholders’ commitment, visionary leadership of the President, and collective action towards a more resilient, inclusive, and prosperous future for Nigerians.