Our reporter/ President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday downplayed the impact of Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff blitz on Nigeria’s economy, noting that the country has bolstered its revenue to be immune to “whatever the US President is doing”.
Tinubu, who spoke at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, lavished praise on himself and his administration, claiming that the nation had already met its annual revenue target in August and was therefore unaffected by Washington’s tariffs, which had rattled trade and the global supply chain.
According to him, the non-oil sector alone was responsible for generating the annual revenue target ahead of schedule.
The U.S. slapped a 15 per cent tariff on all Nigerian products earlier this year, but Mr Tinubu insisted the nation’s economy was thriving, implying that the gains offset whatever economic damage that might be triggered by Mr Trump’s policy.
“Today, I’m standing before you. I can brag that Nigeria is not borrowing a dime from a local bank,” Tinubu said. “We have met our revenue target for the whole year; we met it in August, non-oil. If the non-oil revenue is doing well, then we have no fear of whatever Trump is doing.”
The president attributed this to the increase in non-oil revenue and reforms by his administration, which took over the helm of affairs in May 2023.
“The economy is now stabilised. Nobody is trading pieces of paper for foreign exchange (forex) anymore. The economy is now predictable. You do not need to know the CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso, to obtain foreign exchange or import goods.
“What we need now is building the ship and the vessels for the export of our goods and creating more jobs for our people,’’ the President told the gathering, according to a statement by presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga.
He said the Federal Government will establish agricultural mechanisation centres in all regions of the country to build capacity, expand cultivation and harvest, and guarantee food sovereignty.
“We are going to have trainees,” he said. “That programme is our path to food sovereignty. ”
Reflecting on his longstanding relationship with the CPC, President Tinubu described the political journey and merger as “a sweet memory,” and expressed gratitude to the group for their support: “When I see people like you, I am determined to work harder.”
The delegation thanked the president for steering the country through challenging economic times and for honouring the memory of their late leader and mentor, former President Muhammadu Buhari.
It pledged to deliver massive support for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections.
Despite thePresident’s claim, a rebased GDP report by the National Bureau of Statistics last month pointed to the contrary after it stated that the economy shrank drastically under Tinubu in 2024 due to the steep naira depreciation.
The report further stated that the economy was only doing well on paper and in naira, and that it had sunk to dire straits if measured in U.S. dollars.
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