Our economic reforms are working – Tinubu

By Salif Atojoko

 President Bola Tinubu on Thursday affirmed that the economic reforms of his administration were working, and that his government was on course to building a greater, more economically stable nation.

The president said this in a statement to mark the second anniversary of his administration.

He said under the Renewed Hope Agenda, his administration pledged to tackle economic instability, improve security nationwide, reduce corruption, reform governance, and lift Nigerians out of poverty.

He acknowledged some of the difficulties experienced by Nigerians the course of implementing the reforms.

“We do not take your patience for granted,”Tinubu said.

He, however, said that in spite of the bump in the costs of living, the economy had made undeniable progress.

“Inflation has begun to ease, with rice prices and other staples declining. The oil and gas sector is recovering; rig counts are up by over 400 per cent in 2025 compared to 2021, and over 8 billion dollars in new investments have been committed.

“We have stabilised our economy and are now better positioned for growth and prepared to withstand global shocks.

“In 2025, we remain on track with our fiscal targets. Gross proceeds per barrel from crude oil are broadly aligned with our forecasts as we intensify our efforts to ramp up production,” said the president.

According to him, the country’s fiscal deficit has narrowed sharply from 5.4 per cent of GDP in 2023 to 3.0 per cent in 2024.

“We achieved this through improved revenue generation and greater transparency in government finances. In the first quarter of this year, we recorded over N6 trillion in revenue.

“We have discontinued Ways & Means financing, which has been a major contributor to high and sticky inflation.

“The NNPC, no longer burdened by unsustainable fuel subsidies, is now a net contributor to the Federation Account. We are also achieving fuel supply security through local refining,” continued the president.

He was emphatic that the country’s debt position was improving: “While foreign exchange revaluation pushed our debt-to-GDP ratio to around 53 per cent, our debt service-to-revenue ratio dropped from nearly 100 per cent in 2022 to under 40 per cent by 2024.

“We paid off our IMF obligations and grew our net external reserves by almost 500 per cent from 4 billion dollars in 2023 to over 23 billion dollars by the end of 2024.

“Thanks to our reforms, state revenue increased by over N6 trillion in 2024, ensuring that subnational governments can reduce their debt burden, meet salaries and pension obligations on a timely basis, and invest more in critical infrastructure and human capital development,” said Tinubu. (NAN)