As President Bola Ahmed Tinubu marks his first year in office, Dataphyte’s critical review reveals a landscape of ambitious reforms accompanied by significant economic challenges for Nigerians.
On May 29, 2023, during his inauguration, President Tinubu pledged to revamp the Nigerian economy by focusing on job creation, food security, and poverty alleviation.
The Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, later outlined a three-year, eight-point agenda aimed at economic transformation.
However, Dataphyte reports indicate that the implementation of these policies has had mixed results, exacerbating economic hardships for many citizens.
One of the cornerstone reforms of Tinubu’s administration was the removal of fuel subsidies, leading to a more than 100% increase in fuel prices.
“While his policies supported an increased real GDP and real GDP growth rate, other macroeconomic factors such as inflation and unemployment have worsened within a year,” the report noted.
The removal of the subsidy led to an increase in the price of petroleum by over 100 percent, and the unification of the exchange rate led to the devaluation of the naira by over 100 percent. The shock from both policies led to increased prices of transportation, food, services, and foreign business transactions, straining people’s purchasing power and aggregate consumer spending.
On unemployment, the report highlighted a rise: “The unemployment rate increased by 0.8% between the 2nd and 3rd quarters of 2023, from 4.2% to 5%. Youth unemployment rose by 1.4%, from 7.2% to 8.6%. Urban unemployment increased slightly from 5.9% to 6%, while rural unemployment saw a greater increase from 2.5% to 4%.”
Additionally, the labour force participation dropped from 80.4% in Q2 to 79.5% in Q3. Employment in the informal sector decreased slightly, with self-employed workers dropping from 88% to 87.3%, while wage employment increased from 12% to 12.7%.
Despite recording real GDP growth, the report emphasized that this represents only half of one of the five direct economic goals set by Tinubu. The access to capital, particularly consumer credit, is still developing, and the adequacy and effectiveness of these measures are yet to be fully assessed.
On food security, a major priority for the Tinubu administration, the report painted a bleak picture: “Food inflation rose from 25.25% in June 2023 to 40.53% in April 2024, a 15.28% increase in one year, marking the highest growth in the last 25 years.”
The removal of fuel subsidies also significantly impacted transportation costs, which in turn affected trade, logistics, and the ease of doing business.
“Petrol prices increased from N165 to over N600 overnight last year. Bus journeys within the city increased by 49.55%, interstate bus journeys by 79.17%, airfare by 18.96%, motorcycle transport fares by 2.15%, and waterway transport fares by 34.25%,” the report detailed.
While the removal of fuel subsidies led to increased allocations from the Federation Account to the states, releasing significant funds to state governments, it remains to be seen how effectively these funds will alleviate the financial burdens placed on individuals and businesses by Tinubu’s policies.
“In our assessment, Tinubu’s first year in the Presidency is marked by the people’s unrelenting productivity, precarious unstable prices, people’s unused potentials, and the president’s unfulfilled promises,” the report concluded.
Dataphyte, a media research and data analytics organization, continues to examine the impact of Tinubu’s policies on Nigeria and Nigerians in various reports as the president marks one year in office.
