From Victor Osula, Abuja
The Presidency on Sunday took a swipe at former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, dismissing his allegations of fiscal recklessness against the Tinubu administration as misleading and anchored on what it described as outdated economic realities.
In a detailed point-by-point response issued on Sunday, the Presidency argued that Atiku’s latest criticism relied on “frozen snapshots” of Nigeria’s economy in 2024 while ignoring the progress recorded under President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda over the past two years.
The response, titled “Facts, Not Fear: A Point-by-Point Response to Atiku Abubakar on Nigeria’s Reform Journey,” was signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
The statement came days after Atiku accused the Tinubu administration of excessive borrowing, fiscal recklessness, imposing punitive taxes on Nigerians, and failing to account for an alleged ₦7.98 trillion oil windfall, while questioning the economic impact of the government’s reforms.
The Presidency accused the former Vice President of presenting an outdated narrative by focusing almost exclusively on the economic challenges that accompanied the implementation of key reforms in 2024.
According to Onbeing anuga, economic reforms should be assessed over time rather than judged solely by their initial adjustment costs.
He likened Atiku’s criticism to judging chemotherapy only by its side effects while ignoring the recovery it is intended to produce.
The statement said Nigeria’s dollar-denominated Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which fell to about $253 billion immediately after the exchange-rate realignment, has since rebounded to approximately $377 billion, representing an estimated 49 per cent increase.
It also noted that the country’s naira-denominated GDP had risen from about ₦314 trillion in 2024 to roughly ₦530 trillion, a 69 per cent increase, while stressing that broader indicators such as inflation, real GDP growth, and household welfare must be considered in evaluating economic performance.
“The reforms were never advertised as painless. They were presented as necessary structural adjustments intended to correct long-standing distortions,” the Presidency stated.
On the issue of public debt, the Presidency insisted that borrowing should be measured against Nigeria’s economic capacity and the productive use of borrowed funds rather than headline figures.
It argued that Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio of about 40 per cent remains relatively modest compared to many emerging and advanced economies, while the country’s debt service-to-revenue ratio has reportedly declined from nearly 100 per cent in December 2022 to less than 60 per cent under the Tinubu administration.
According to Onanuga, borrowed funds are being deployed for long-term infrastructure and productive investments rather than recurrent expenditure.
The Presidency also strongly disputed Atiku’s allegation that the Federal Government had failed to account for an estimated ₦7.98 trillion oil windfall.
Describing the claim as analytically deficient, it argued that government oil revenue cannot be calculated simply by multiplying crude oil prices by production volumes.
Onanuga explained that factors including production costs, output shortfalls, production-sharing agreements with oil companies, and crude volumes already committed to existing loan obligations significantly affect actual government earnings.
“There is no such windfall of ₦7.98 trillion,” the statement declared, challenging Atiku to publicly disclose the methodology behind his calculation.
The Presidency further defended the removal of fuel subsidy, describing it as one of the boldest economic decisions taken by the Tinubu administration after successive governments, including the administration in which Atiku served as Vice President, failed to end what it described as a fiscally unsustainable regime.
According to the statement, subsidy removal has significantly increased statutory allocations to states and local governments, enabling sub-national governments to invest more in roads, schools, hospitals, salaries, pensions, and other development projects.
It also rejected Atiku’s claim that the administration had imposed punitive taxes on Nigerians, insisting that the tax reforms were designed to create a more equitable system.
The statement said individuals earning ₦1 million annually or less and small businesses with annual turnovers below ₦100 million have been shielded from additional tax burdens, while wealthier individuals and highly profitable enterprises are expected to contribute a fairer share.
Highlighting what it described as the gains of the administration’s reform programme, the Presidency said more than 3,000 Primary Healthcare Centres have been revitalised nationwide, while over 78,000 frontline health workers have been retrained.
It added that more than 100 public health facilities now provide free caesarean sections for indigent women, while three world-class cancer centres have become operational in Kubwa, Enugu, and Katsina, with facilities in 13 additional states upgraded.
In the education sector, the statement said over 11,000 projects have been executed through the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), while the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has benefited more than 1.64 million students, disbursing over ₦303 billion across about 300 tertiary institutions.
The Presidency also cited ongoing investments in highways, rail, power, airports, gas infrastructure, housing, and digital connectivity as evidence that the administration remains focused on expanding productive capacity and supporting long-term economic growth.
Concluding its response, the Presidency maintained that while the reforms have imposed short-term costs on Nigerians, the country has moved beyond the most difficult phase of the adjustment programme.
It pointed to the rollout of the NG-CARES, HOPE, and SOLID programmes, valued at more than $3 billion, alongside cash transfers to 15 million vulnerable households, as part of measures to cushion the impact of the reforms.
Onanuga further argued that Nigeria’s economy is no longer where it was during the height of its structural distortions and insisted that the Tinubu administration would remain committed to implementing reforms aimed at strengthening institutions, expanding economic opportunities, and improving living standards.
He accused Atiku of misrepresenting the country’s economic trajectory for political purposes, insisting that the national conversation should be driven by evidence, and not slogans and fear.
