PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu on Sunday, August 4, boasted of his administration’s achievements in blocking economic leakages and implementing critical reforms, calling on Nigerians to suspend the ongoing nationwide protest.
In his speech, Tinubu detailed measures he took to stabilise the economy, such as removing fuel subsidies and unifying foreign exchange systems, which he said were important to stop mismanagement that his administration inherited.
According to him, his government has made significant strides in rebuilding the foundation of Nigeria’s economy to carry citizens into a future of plenty and abundance in the last 14 months that he has led the nation.
“On the fiscal side, aggregate government revenues have more than doubled, hitting over N9.1 trillion in the first half of 2024 compared to the first half of 2023 due to our efforts at blocking leakages, introducing automation, and mobilising funding creatively without additional burden on the people,” he said.
He also noted increased productivity in the non-oil sector with commensurate rise in government revenues and progress in various sectors as evidence of his administration’s success.
“My dear brothers and sisters, we have come this far. Coming from a place where our country spent 97 per cent of all our revenue on debt service; we have been able to reduce that to 68 per cent in the last 13 months. We have also cleared legitimate outstanding foreign exchange obligations of about $5 billion without any adverse impact on our programmes.”
Concerns raised
However, there are concerns over the President’s claims as they do not align with the reality of extravagant government spending and rising economic hardship for many Nigerians.
The trajectory also contrasts sharply with the leaders who many citizens believe show sheer profligacy in utilising national resources – a culture that has stagnated the nation’s progress for decades.
More Nigerians are poorer and hungrier, as food inflation stands at 31. 52 per cent, even as the surge in food prices squeezes an average citizen’s spending.
While the administration over the past year claimed to have rolled out a series of palliatives to alleviate the hardship and suffering that the removal of fuel subsidy has foisted on citizens, many Nigerians didn’t benefit from such interventions.
Similarly, the government’s frivolous and extravagant spending has cast doubts on the administration’s commitment to alleviating hardship in the country.
The ICIR, in March 2024, reported how the country’s 2024 budget has over 512 billion from frivolous line items, according to findings by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ).
This amount is spread across more than 24 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and could have been saved had the legislature conducted proper oversight.
The ICIR findings from the report revealed that over N358 billion could be saved from the Service Wild Votes; N10 billion from the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and N2.5 billion from the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development among others.
Recall that the Nigerian Senate suspended a Senator, Abdul Ningi, a senator, for three months over the allegation that the National Assembly padded the 2024 budget.
Worries over Nigerian leaders’ spending spree
Similarly, in November 2023, The ICIR reported widespread concerns over fiscal rascality by political officeholders in Nigeria, as N1 trillion additional monthly revenue accrual from petroleum subsidy removal was unaccounted for.
Despite being urged by Tinubu to make sacrifices after the fuel subsidy removal, Nigerians are currently under severe economic pains, with the nation’s currency – the naira – galloping from its free fall to the US dollar despite interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Many economists have argued that a bloated federal executive council of 48 cabinet members has become worrisome for an economy that borrows to fund a large chunk of its national budget.
“Should the government be that large at a time when a lean cabinet seems more needful given the financial state of the country,?” a political economist, Segun Sowunmi, said in response to the development.
The ICIR also reported a huge amount expended on the importation and delivery of 360 sports utility vehicles (SUVs) by the House of Representatives worth N57.6 billion for its members while neglecting indigenous companies and exporting jobs to other advanced economies.
Also, the dust raised by the N5 billion yacht included in the N2.17 trillion supplementary budget, which many had assumed was for the President, has yet to fully settle, despite borrowing from the World Bank and other multilateral lending institutions to fund the budget.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M