Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has revealed that the country’s economy was on the brink of collapse at the time of his inauguration in May 2023.

“Upon assuming office, our administration inherited a near-collapsed economy caused by decades of fiscal policy distortions and misalignment that had impaired real growth,” said Tinubu.

Tinubu made the statement during a national broadcast to the nation on Wednesday morning, marking the country’s 65th Independence Anniversary.

According to him, this situation put his administration in a tight corner and he had no choice but to implement reforms to revive the country’s economy.

“As a new administration, we faced a simple choice: continue business as usual and watch our nation drift, or embark on a courageous, fundamental reform path. We chose the path of reform,” Tinubu added.

During his inauguration, Tinubu announced the total removal of the petrol subsidy. According to Tinubu, the petrol subsidy only benefited a minority of the population.

“In resetting our country for sustainable growth, we ended the corrupt fuel subsidies and multiple foreign exchange rates that created massive incentives for a rentier economy, benefiting only a tiny minority. At the same time, the masses received little or nothing from our Commonwealth,” Tinubu said.

For years, petrol subsidy served as a cover shielding Nigerians from hardship. Following the removal of the subsidy, the pump price increased. By implication, the prices of goods and services skyrocketed, throwing millions of Nigerians into unprecedented hardship.

Some economic experts have described the President’s reforms as unfavourable, but the President has insisted on many occasions that the reforms will propel the country’s economy to higher grounds.

He reiterated this on Wednesday morning, saying, “We chose the path of tomorrow over the comfort of today. Less than three years later, the seeds of those difficult but necessary decisions are bearing fruit.”