WE INHERITED A BROKEN ECONOMY BUT ARE FIXING IT: PRESIDENT TINUBU
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday May 8th painted a sobering picture of the country’s economic state when he assumed office in 2023, declaring that he inherited a “near-insolvent treasury” riddled with unsustainable debt and subsidy burdens. However, he insisted that his administration’s painful reforms are already yielding green shoots of recovery.
Speaking in Awka, Anambra State, during a grand civic reception hosted by Governor Charles Soludo, Tinubu said: “We met near-insolvent public finance, a decades-old monster of unsustainable multiple subsidies, a chaotic and debilitating forex regime. Just as we tamed the Atlantic in Lagos, many of these monsters have been tackled.”
He acknowledged the hardship brought about by the removal of fuel subsidies and floating of the naira but maintained that such measures were necessary to stabilize the macroeconomic framework.
Despite widespread economic discomfort—manifested in spiraling food prices, currency depreciation, and reduced consumer spending—Tinubu argued that his bold reforms are gradually restoring investor confidence and positioning Nigeria for a more resilient future.
The President also praised Governor Soludo’s transformation blueprint for Anambra, calling the vision of an “African Dubai-Taiwan-Silicon Valley” both ambitious and inspiring. Among the infrastructure inaugurated were the Solution Fun City and the newly completed Government House.
Highlighting efforts to reduce inequality, Tinubu mentioned his administration’s negotiation and signing of a new minimum wage framework and promised continued collaboration with sub-national governments to ensure delivery.
Amid chants of approval from local traditional rulers, Tinubu was conferred with a chieftaincy title, humorously requesting land in Anambra for a retirement home—a moment that drew laughter but also underlined his growing political courtship of the South East.
