The Presidency has admitted that President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms have pushed more Nigerians into poverty, while insisting that the hardship is part of the cost of restructuring the country’s economy.
Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, made the admission on Wednesday while defending the administration’s economic policies and responding to criticism of Tinubu’s performance.
Bwala spoke during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he argued that the government could not have carried out major economic reforms without creating discomfort for citizens.
He said the reforms were necessary because Nigeria had already been dealing with widespread poverty and deep economic challenges before Tinubu assumed office.
“Do you know why? It’s simply because we took a reform. There is no part of the world where reform comes with convenience,” Bwala said.
The presidential aide was responding to questions about the worsening economic conditions faced by many Nigerians since the administration introduced major changes, including the removal of the petrol subsidy and reforms in the foreign exchange market.
Those policies have had a significant effect on the cost of transportation, food, production and other basic needs.
The sharp increase in living costs has continued to generate public debate over whether the benefits promised by the reforms are reaching ordinary Nigerians.
Bwala, however, maintained that the government deliberately chose to take difficult decisions that previous administrations avoided.
According to him, Nigeria’s population was already facing poverty when the Tinubu administration began its reform programme.
“The population is 230 million already at some stage of poverty but we can’t make any progress until reform is carried out,” he said.
He argued that successive governments had been reluctant to undertake fundamental economic changes because of the likely backlash from citizens.
“None of the presidents that came before President Tinubu had the courage to do it because of the fear of what you are saying Today. But the President said we can’t make progress, so he took that reform,” he added.
Bwala’s comments amount to a direct acknowledgement from the Presidency that the reforms have had a painful effect on Nigerians, even as the administration continues to defend them as necessary for long-term economic recovery.
He specifically urged opposition politicians and critics of the government to recognise the connection between the reforms and the increase in the number of Nigerians struggling with poverty.
“Please let it be clear, even to the opposition, the reason why you have this number of poor people and some of these doomsday analyses that people are giving is because we undertook a reform,” he said.
The presidential aide did not deny that the number of Nigerians experiencing poverty had increased since the reforms began.
Instead, he argued that the hardship should be viewed alongside what he described as the progress recorded by the administration over the same period.
“There is no part of the world where you start a reform like that there will not be discomfort, right? More people went down to poverty. Acknowledged. I’m not doubting,” he said.
“Since the reform started till Today, we have made marked progress, which is what we have spent the last three years talking to Nigerians about.
“So you cannot discount the fact that even though there are quite a number of our population that are poor, which we admit, but that we have made progress so far.”
Economic hardship remains one of the major issues ahead of the election.
Opposition parties and politicians have repeatedly criticised the Federal Government over the rising cost of living, food prices, unemployment and the effect of the reforms on households.
The government, on the other hand, has continued to argue that the policies were introduced to correct longstanding economic problems and place the country on a more sustainable path.
President Tinubu has repeatedly defended the reforms, particularly the decision to remove the petrol subsidy and change the country’s foreign exchange framework.
In his Independence Day address on October 1, the President said the country was moving from a period of reform towards prosperity.
He also acknowledged that millions of Nigerians were still struggling with food, education, healthcare and transportation costs.
Tinubu said the difficulties confronting many families did not begin with his administration but were the result of problems that had accumulated over several years.
The President also highlighted plans to expand job creation, support businesses, increase industrial production and strengthen social interventions for vulnerable Nigerians.
Bwala has similarly pointed to government programmes as evidence that the administration’s policies are producing results.
In earlier comments, he cited initiatives such as the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, the Compressed Natural Gas programme and healthcare interventions as measures targeted at ordinary Nigerians.
He had also argued that the increased revenue available to state governments following the reforms could translate into more projects and support for citizens at the state level.
Politics Nigeria previously reported his position that the impact of the reforms would take time to become fully visible.
The argument from the Presidency is that the immediate pain should not be separated from the longer-term objectives of the reforms.
Critics have continued to question how quickly those expected gains will translate into better living conditions for ordinary Nigerians.
