Nigeria’s Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, says that President Bola Tinubu’s “bold reforms” are steadily preparing Nigeria’s economy for lasting recovery and growth, despite current hardships.
The minister told journalists after visiting President Tinubu at his Lagos home, that the Tinubu administration’s decision to end costly subsidies on fuel, foreign exchange, and electricity was pivotal.
“Decades of underinvestment brought Nigeria to a point where even paying salaries was difficult. By cutting these subsidies, we freed up resources. Today, subnational governments, states, and local governments have nearly tripled the funds they had before. That’s transformative”, Bagudu said.
According to Bagudu, the additional funds are being channeled into critical sectors: infrastructure, agriculture, consumer credit, digital innovation, and human capital development.
“These are not abstract promises. We are seeing real allocations going to security, education, and economic empowerment,” he added.
He said the reforms are already inspiring a resurgence of investor confidence.
“One of the greatest differentiators between developed and developing countries is the level of investment. Both public and private. We are now correcting years of neglect. That is a Herculean task, and that is central to reforms.
“There is a visible return of private capital, both domestic and international. Investors are taking Nigeria seriously again. They see a government that’s making tough but necessary choices.
“When someone starts by filling the hole under a house, you might think they’ve done nothing because you don’t yet see the walls. But President Tinubu has been honest. He said from the start: we’re in a hole, not because we want to blame the past, but because critical decisions were delayed for too long,” the report by Punch newspaper on Monday quoted Tinubu as saying.
According to the minister, as Nigerians celebrate Eid and the second anniversary of the Tinubu administration, “the administration’s reforms are working, investments are rising, despite challenges besetting the country.”
GIK/APA