Nigeria's president hails economic reforms ahead of bid for reelection

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu lauded that the country had overcome major challenges since he assumed office in 2023 while he remains unpopular among young Nigerians with his reelection bid around the corner.

In his last Independence Day address, Tinubu said that improvements are "undeniable" as the economy has grown by "over four per cent this year."

He added that both oil and non-oil sectors have contributed with oil theft going down and inflation falling "substantially from its peak".

Tinubu was elected president in 2023 after campaigning on promises to build on his predecessor’s efforts to deliver democratic dividends to citizens in a country grappling with deadly security crises, corruption in the government, and widespread poverty and hunger.

In his address, he claimed that citizens would soon benefit from economic growth and envisioned a country where young people could find work.

He began his administration with economic reforms, announcing at his inauguration in May 2023 the removal of the decades-long fuel subsidy.

He later floated the local naira currency by ending its distorted foreign exchange rate, which caused a major devaluation.

The bold reforms, which Tinubu’s government argues saved the economy and handed the government more money, were cheered by investors but resulted in soaring inflation.

Nigeria’s security woes have also persisted in recent years with more mass kidnappings and killings and have further spread to regions that were once spared the violence.

Tinubu is running for reelection on January 16, 2027.

He is challenged by 18 opposition candidates but analysts predict a three-man race, including the two top contenders that he defeated in 2023, Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress, a serial presidential candidate, and Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, a former state governor who blew the last race wide open with his mass appeal to Nigeria’s youth.