Oye To Tinubu: Turn Economic Gains Into Cheaper Food, Jobs

The Chairman of Alliance for Economic Research and Ethics Ltd/GTE, Dele Oye, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to translate recent improvements in Nigeria’s economy into lower food prices, more jobs and better living conditions for citizens.

Oye acknowledged that the government had taken difficult steps to stabilise the economy, but said the success of the reforms should ultimately be judged by their impact on households and businesses.

In a statement titled, “The Economy Is Stabilising. Now Let the People Feel It,” he said rising foreign exchange reserves and stronger economic growth indicated that the economy was gradually regaining stability.

He cited Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) data showing that the country’s foreign exchange reserves rose to $53.11 billion as of August 24, 2026, the highest level in 17 years.

Oye also referenced National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) figures which put economic growth at 4.43 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, up from 3.89 percent in the preceding quarter.

He said the expansion recorded across both oil and non-oil sectors suggested that economic activity was gaining momentum.

However, Oye cautioned that improved reserves and GDP figures would have limited meaning if they failed to translate into tangible relief for Nigerians.

“Nigerians should be honest enough to acknowledge progress when progress has been made and courageous enough to say when progress has not yet become prosperity,” he said.

Oye credited the Tinubu administration with taking politically difficult measures, including petrol subsidy removal, foreign exchange reforms, an end to monetary financing of fiscal deficits, efforts to rebuild external reserves and tighter monetary policy.

He said the measures had started correcting some of the distortions that had weakened the economy over the years, while providing a clearer policy direction and a more credible foreign exchange framework.

According to him, International Monetary Fund (IMF) data showed that Nigeria’s gross international reserves increased from $40 billion at the end of 2024 to $46 billion at the end of 2025, while net reserves rose from $23 billion to $35 billion.

He said the latest reserve figure of $53.11 billion further demonstrated the improvement in Nigeria’s external position.

On growth, Oye said the 4.43 percent expansion in the second quarter showed that the economy was beginning to move beyond survival, noting that the IMF had projected 4.1 percent growth for 2026, driven largely by services and non-oil activities.

But he warned that significant hardship remained, citing an IMF assessment which put poverty at 63 percent at the national poverty line and estimated that 27 million Nigerians faced food insecurity in autumn 2025.

Oye urged the government to make the next phase of its economic programme about turning stability into improved living standards.

“The street is not an enemy of economic reform. The street is its final court,” he said, stressing that traders, farmers, teachers, apprentices, nurses, transport workers, students and small manufacturers should be the real measure of economic progress.

He said the government must now ensure that Nigerians could work, run businesses and provide for their families without being overwhelmed by economic hardship.

“The measure of the Tinubu economic project will therefore not be whether Nigeria can recite its reserves, growth rate, debt ratio, or reform catalogue. The measure will be whether a young Nigerian can work hard without being crushed by disorder; whether a family can eat without choosing between food and medicine; whether an honest business can compete without bribery; and whether public revenue can be seen in public good,” he said.

Oye said the administration had demonstrated courage by beginning the reforms but must now show equal commitment to implementation.

“Nigeria has begun to stabilise. Now it must begin to heal. That is the passage from policy to people and from insight to impact,” he added.