The Presidency has dismissed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies, insisting that the administration’s reforms have strengthened Nigeria’s economy and laid the foundation for long-term growth despite the initial hardships they imposed.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, accused Atiku of relying on outdated economic data and presenting what he described as an inaccurate picture of the country’s current economic realities.
Responding point-by-point to Atiku’s recent criticisms on government borrowing, fuel subsidy removal, tax reforms, public debt and alleged oil revenue windfall, Onanuga argued that the opposition leader was evaluating a reform programme by focusing only on its most difficult early phase.
According to him, the economic adjustments that followed the removal of fuel subsidy and exchange rate reforms in 2023 and 2024 were never expected to be painless but were necessary to correct long-standing structural distortions.
He said Nigeria’s economy had recorded significant recovery since the immediate effects of the reforms, noting that the country’s dollar-denominated Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which fell to about $253 billion after the exchange-rate reset, had rebounded to approximately $377 billion, representing about a 49 per cent increase.
Onanuga also said Nigeria’s GDP in naira terms had risen from about ₦314 trillion in 2024 to roughly ₦530 trillion, reflecting a 69 per cent increase, although he acknowledged that these figures should be assessed alongside indicators such as inflation, real GDP growth and household welfare.
Addressing concerns over borrowing, the presidential spokesman maintained that debt should not be judged in isolation but in relation to the size of the economy, revenue-generating capacity, debt servicing obligations and the purpose of the loans.
He said Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio remained at about 40 per cent, which he described as relatively modest compared to countries such as South Africa, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, the United States, the United Kingdom and China.
According to him, the Tinubu administration had also reduced the country’s debt service-to-revenue ratio from nearly 100 per cent in December 2022 to less than 60 per cent, reflecting improvements in revenue generation and debt management.
Defending the removal of fuel subsidy, Onanuga said the policy had freed up resources for states and local governments through increased Federation Account allocations, enabling them to spend more on infrastructure, education, healthcare, salaries, pensions and social programmes.
He argued that the policy also strengthened fiscal federalism by giving sub-national governments greater financial responsibility for development.
On the administration’s tax reforms, Onanuga rejected claims that the government was imposing heavier taxes on Nigerians.
Instead, he said the reforms were designed to create a fairer tax system by reducing the burden on low-income earners earning ₦1 million or less annually and exempting small businesses with annual turnover of up to ₦100 million, while ensuring wealthier individuals and profitable companies paid their fair share.
Highlighting achievements in the health sector, he said the Federal Government had revitalised more than 3,000 Primary Healthcare Centres and retrained over 78,000 frontline health workers within three years.
He added that more than 100 public health facilities across the country now provide free caesarean sections for indigent mothers, while three world-class cancer centres had become operational in Kubwa, Enugu and Katsina, alongside the expansion of cancer treatment centres in 13 states.
On education, Onanuga said over 11,000 projects had been executed through the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) in partnership with state governments.
He also cited the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), saying more than 1.64 million students had benefited from tuition and upkeep loans, with over ₦303 billion disbursed to students across 300 higher institutions.
He further claimed that prolonged university strikes had been brought to an end, allowing students to complete academic programmes within the expected timeframe.
The presidential spokesman said the administration was also making substantial investments in transport infrastructure, roads, rail, airports, power, gas, housing and digital connectivity, while state governments had accelerated development projects due to improved fiscal inflows.
Responding to Atiku’s claim of an alleged N7.98 trillion oil revenue windfall, Onanuga described the figure as baseless.
He explained that although Brent crude averaged around $90 per barrel in the first half of 2026 against the budget benchmark of $64.85, average daily crude production of about 1.6 million barrels fell below the projected 1.84 million barrels per day.
He also noted that some crude oil production had already been committed to servicing existing loans and that government oil revenues could not be calculated simply by multiplying crude prices by production volumes because factors such as production costs, profit-sharing with oil companies and existing forward contracts also affect actual earnings.
According to him, all additional oil revenues are already reflected in monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) distributions.
On inflation, Onanuga said Nigeria had experienced a significant decline from its peak, recalling that inflation fell to 14.4 per cent in November 2025 before rising to 15.91 per cent due to disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict.
He expressed confidence that inflation would continue to decline, with analysts projecting a drop to about 12 per cent before the end of the year.
He also highlighted recently launched social intervention programmes, including the ward-centric NG-CARES, HOPE and SOLID initiatives valued at more than $3 billion, alongside cash transfers to 15 million vulnerable households through the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.
While acknowledging that Nigeria still faced economic challenges, Onanuga maintained that the reforms were already delivering results and would continue to strengthen institutions, expand economic opportunities and improve living standards.
He argued that history would ultimately judge the Tinubu administration by whether its decisions strengthened the country, rather than by the immediate discomfort caused by the reforms.