Obasanjo accuses Tinubu of worsening poverty in Nigeria
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Punch
Former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo accuses Bola Tinubu’s reforms of causing the naira to lose 300% of its value, falling from 500 to 1,500 nairas per dollar. He says this devaluation has sharply worsened poverty in Nigeria, according to remarks at the Financial Times Africa summit in London.
Former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo accused President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday of impoverishing Nigerians by 300% through the devaluation of the naira, saying that the economic reforms had made Nigeria « the world capital of poverty ». He was speaking at the 2026 Financial Times Africa Summit in London, according to Punch.
Olusegun Obasanjo said that the dollar had risen from around 500 to 1,500 nairas after the 2023 reform. He rejected the argument that Bola Tinubu should be given more time to turn the economy around, saying he had seen no improvement, Punch reports.
The former head of state also criticised the president’s programmes and the management of fuel subsidies. He said that some spending presented as subsidies amounted to corruption and called for reductions in corruption, waste and luxury spending, according to Punch.
Headline inflation stood at 14.63% in September, compared with 20.98% a year earlier, while food inflation reached 19.59%. Real gross domestic product had grown by 4.43%, according to the National Bureau of Statistics cited by Punch.
The remarks came after Bola Tinubu defended the removal of fuel subsidies in Nigeria on 21 October. Former president Atiku Abubakar had also accused the head of state of worsening the cost of living on 20 October, according to an article previously published by the media.
