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ABUJA – The presidency has taken a swipe on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, accusing him of deploying a carpet begging approach to criticise the administration of President Bola Tinubu, especially his social-economic reforms in the last three years.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, took to an opinion piece on Sunday, to lash at Atiku, reeling out a point-by-point rebuttal to his accusations of fiscal recklessness on the part of the presidency.
He argued that Atiku’s criticism leans on outdated 2024 data and ignores significant macroeconomic gains recorded in 2025 and 2026.
Onanuga in the opinion piece titled, ‘Facts, not Fear: A Point-by- Point Response to Atiku Abubakar on Nigeria’s Reform Journey,’ said Atiku was still wallowing in “frozen snapshots of history” without considering evolving economic realities under President Tinubu’s reform agenda.
He regretted that Atiku’s economic arguments remain anchored in 2024, even as Nigeria’s economy has rebounded sharply in dollar and naira terms.
According to the presidential aide, Nigeria’s dollar-denominated GDP has risen from about $253 billion post-exchange rate reset to roughly $377 billion—a 49% recovery— while naira GDP expanded from N314 trillion to around N530 trillion, a 69% increase.
Onanuga described the reforms as “necessary structural adjustments” meant to correct distortions that persisted through earlier administrations, including the 1999–2007 Obasanjo-Atiku years.
Commenting on borrowing plans, the spokesperson to the president said debt must be assessed relative to economic capacity and revenue performance, citing the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio at about 40%, lower than peers such as South Africa (85%), Egypt (80%), and Kenya (75%), and far below advanced economies like the U.S. (130%) and U.K. (110%).
According to him, the debt-service- to-revenue ratio has fallen from nearly 100% in late 2022 to under 60% today, reflecting improved revenue efficiency and conservative debt management.
He defended the removal of the long-criticized fuel subsidy, saying it had drained public finances for decades.
He said the savings have visibly boosted statutory allocations to states and local governments, enabling higher spending on infrastructure, salaries, pensions, and social programs.
Citing World Bank assessments, the presidential aide said public revenues and subnational capital spending have improved following the reforms—what it termed “true federalism” in action.
Addressing claims of punitive taxation, he said the reforms are designed to broaden the tax base while shielding low-income earners and small businesses. Individuals earning up to N1 million annually and enterprises with turnover below N100 million are meant to bear lighter burdens, while compliance is tightened among higher earners and profitable firms.
