Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, has said the bold economic reforms of the Bola Tinubu administration were beginning to yield results, with increased investor confidence and rising capital inflows signalling a turnaround for the Nigerian economy.
Speaking in Lagos on Saturday night after a courtesy visit to President Tinubu, Bagudu said while the country was not yet where it hopes to be, the economy has been firmly steered back on track through difficult but necessary policy decisions.
“We’re not where we want to be,” Bagudu said, “but these steps have turned the economy in the right direction.”
The Minister cited the removal of longstanding fuel, foreign exchange, and electricity subsidies as pivotal to freeing up fiscal space and redirecting resources to critical sectors of the economy.
“Decades of underinvestment brought Nigeria to a point where even paying salaries was difficult,” he said. “By cutting these subsidies, we freed up resources. Today, subnational governments—states and local governments—have nearly tripled the funds they had before. That’s transformative.”
Bagudu noted that the additional funds were being deployed to infrastructure, agriculture, consumer credit schemes, human capital development, and digital innovation, adding that the impact was already visible in budgetary allocations to education, security, and economic empowerment.
“These are not abstract promises,” he stressed. “We are seeing real allocations that are making a difference.”
According to the Minister, President Tinubu’s reforms were also helping to restore investor confidence, with both domestic and international capital gradually returning to the Nigerian economy.
“One of the greatest differentiators between developed and developing countries is the level of investment—both public and private,” Bagudu explained. “We are now correcting years of neglect. That is a Herculean task and that is central to the reforms.”
Bagudu praised the administration for laying what he described as a solid foundation for long-term growth, likening it to reinforcing a structure from beneath.
“When someone starts by filling the hole under a house, you might think they’ve done nothing because you don’t yet see the walls,” he said. “But President Tinubu has been honest. He said from the start: we’re in a hole—not to blame the past, but because critical decisions were delayed for too long.”
Bagudu also pointed to the growing number of opposition politicians defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a testament to Tinubu’s leadership and the credibility of his economic direction.
“They’ve stated publicly why they joined—because of the sincerity and direction of this leadership. That’s not politics. That’s belief in a future that is being built with courage and vision,” he said.
As Nigeria marks both Eid-el-Kabir and the second anniversary of the Tinubu administration, Bagudu urged Nigerians to reflect on the journey so far and remain hopeful about the future.
“The administration’s reforms are working. Investments are rising. Yes, there are challenges, but we’re now doing the hard things needed to ensure a better tomorrow,” the Minister stated.
