Why Nigeria is lucky to have Tinubu as leader now

Nigeria’s Finance Minister and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, on Wednesday said the country is fortunate to have President Bola Tinubu at the helm of affairs at a time of economic challenges and global uncertainty.

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Mr Oyedele made the remark on Wednesday on the sidelines of the World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, where he praised the president for his willingness to implement difficult economic reforms and his understanding of economic and monetary policy issues.

“I say to myself every time that Nigeria is lucky to have a leader like Mr President,” the minister said.

“A leader that says ‘I’ll do the right thing, even when it’s not popular’. There are so very few of them, and our president is not saying it; he’s doing it, he’s doing it even with pre-election (concerns),” he added.

Since assuming office in May 2023, the Tinubu administration has introduced a series of economic reforms, the impact of which international institutions like the World Bank and the IMF have acknowledged

The reforms include the removal of costly petrol subsidies, which had been a major drain on public finance for years, the unification of the foreign exchange rates and the sharp devaluation of the naira to attract foreign capital.

Although abolishing fuel subsidies has boosted government revenue and is seen as an investor-friendly move, it has triggered a cost-of-living crisis and spurred inflationary pressures.

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Reforms in the foreign exchange market have helped increase accretion to external reserves, which stood at $55.1 billion as of 9 October, its peak level in over 18 years.

The banking sector also underwent a recapitalisation exercise that ended in March and helped Nigerian banks raise N4.7 trillion in new capital.

According to the Central Bank of Nigeria, the recapitalisation strengthened banks’ capital adequacy ratios, keeping the sector above international Basel benchmarks.

Mr Oyedele said President Tinubu possesses two attributes uncommon among leaders, notably those of democratic governments.

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The first is his willingness to do what he considers right, even when the decision is unpopular or politically difficult.

“I remember at least three issues that were discussed with him recently, and on my own I would offer to say ‘maybe we wait until after the election’. And his question is always, ‘Is it the right thing to do?’ Yes, yes, it is. Why do we have to wait?” Mr Oyedele said.

“Number two attribute is that our President gets it. It’s not easy to understand issues to do with the economy, finance, monetary policy, like respect for the independence of the monetary authority. For Mr President, it’s 100 per cent,” he added.

The minister added that the president’s position on such matters has made it unnecessary for officials to discuss the issue with him repeatedly.

“We don’t even talk about it. So, I feel like we are so blessed, we cannot afford to wait even one minute,” he said.