The All Progressives Congress Professionals Forum says President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s reforms will lead to a better Nigeria as the forum absolves the country’s leader of responsibility for the current economic calamity.

Isa Yuguda, the chairman of the board of trustees of the APC forum, said this at a policy roundtable on Tuesday in Abuja. 

“The president did not create any of the problems people are talking about, whether in the economy or the other sectors,” said Mr Yuguda. “In fact, what he met on the ground would have created a worse situation if not properly handled, but he is championing reforms that are required to pave the way for a better society.”

He said the forum organised the policy scorecard, the first in the series, to assess the first year of Tinubu’s ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’. Mr Yuguda said the programme would examine two key issues germane to the nation’s development: the economy and power.

Mr Yuguda added, “We all recall how on assuming office, President Tinubu announced the removal of fuel subsidy but again, for the avoidance of doubt,  he did not remove subsidy on PMS. It was not in the later part of the 2023 budget, but surprisingly,  the Tinubu administration had to bear the brunt of subsidy removal.”

Mr Yuguda said contrary to insinuations in the public space about the Tinubu-led administration in the economy and other sectors, the administration was championing reforms that would guarantee a better society for Nigerians.

The politician added that the administration had unified the exchange rates, inevitably sending those benefiting from arbitrage out of business. He said oil production had grown steadily since the second quarter of 2023 from 1.22 million barrels per day to 1.55 million barrels per day.

Mr Yuguda added that this meant additional resources even as non-oil revenue continued to rise due to the Tinubu administration’s financial re-engineering.

He recalled that, according to data from the Budget Office, debt service went from about 95 per cent of the nation’s revenue to 183 per cent in the first quarter of 2023.

“Though our debt-to-GDP ratio looked good, today, Nigeria’s debt service-to-revenue ratio has dropped to about 66.9 per cent, which is the lowest in four years.

“This is largely due to fuel subsidy removal and the unification of the foreign exchange market, which have not only increased revenue inflows but also ensured allocation of more funds for capital projects,” Mr Yuguda said.

APC national chairman Abdullahi Ganduje said Mr Tinubu was working hard to address the country’s challenges. He thanked the forum for organising the discussions at a critical period of global economic difficulties.

According to Mr Ganduje, under the Tinubu-led administration, the country’s economy is gradually being transformed into a credit-based consumer economy.

He said this would improve agriculture, with an emphasis on dry-season farming, which would positively impact food security and food prices and deliver enabling infrastructure and access to education, among other things.

(NAN)