KEY POINTS
- Tinubu says Nigeria’s economy has turned the corner and averted bankruptcy.
- Governors no longer borrow from banks to meet payroll, he claims.
- Pensioners are gradually receiving relief under the current administration.
President Bola Tinubu used a Ramadan gathering at the Presidential Villa Monday night to deliver what amounted to his most direct economic report card yet, telling religious and traditional leaders that Nigeria had pulled itself back from the financial edge his administration inherited in 2023.
The Tinubu Nigeria economy assessment was blunt and personal. Speaking at an interfaith breaking of the fast attended by leaders from all six geopolitical zones, the President said the country had been close to bankruptcy when he took office and that the worst was now behind it.
“We have saved Nigeria from bankruptcy. It was very daunting and challenging when we took over. But today I can say with pride and joy that we have survived,” he said.
He pointed to one particular measure as evidence of fiscal improvement: state governors, he said, no longer needed to run to commercial banks for emergency loans to cover workers’ monthly wages, a situation that had been common in several states before his administration.
Pensioners Getting Relief, More Work Remains
Tinubu said pensioners were gradually receiving some financial relief, a sign, he suggested, that the government’s reforms were beginning to trickle down to some of the most economically vulnerable Nigerians. He stopped short of declaring the Tinubu Nigeria economy fully recovered, framing his remarks instead as a work in progress driven by personal commitment to the job.
“I am just grateful, one person among millions, that I have been given the opportunity to serve,” he said. “All I can do is promise that I will continue to be faithful in discharging my duty.”
Religious Leaders Pledge Support
The Etsu Nupe, Yahaya Abubakar, who represented both the Sultan of Sokoto and the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, thanked the President for bringing Muslim and Christian leaders together under one roof during Ramadan and prayed for peace and stability across the country.
Archbishop Daniel Okoh, representing the Evangelical Church Winning All president Stephen Baba-Panya, told Tinubu the Christian Association of Nigeria stood behind government efforts to transform the economy and tighten national security.
Tinubu also reaffirmed plans to deepen investment in agriculture and education, framing both as long-term pillars of the prosperity he says Nigeria is now building toward.
