President Bola Tinubu’s administration has said that Nigerians are enjoying the lowest cost of living in Africa.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, stated this on Sunday.
This is even as inflation, occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy at the begin of Tinubu’s presidency, has continued to cause immense hardships across the country.
While Onanuga admitted that the administration’s reforms would cause “immediate pains”, he noted that it will usher Nigeria into an era of prosperity in the medium and long terms.
Onanuga stated this while reacting to recent comments credited to Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last election.
Atiku had argued that President Tinubu’s poor response to the nation’s challenges was setting the stage for a prolonged and deeper economic crisis.
But Onanuga faulted Atiku’s assertions about the rising cost of living saying: “His claim that the government’s policies have created intense cost of living pressures are also not grounded on facts as recent comparative cost of living indices show that Nigerians still enjoy the lowest cost of living in Africa.”
“Atiku’s claims that the private sector is shrinking and that multinational companies are leaving our companies in ‘droves’ are not grounded on facts,” it added in a statement on Sunday.
Onanuga said Atiku “should be honest enough to admit that President Tinubu inherited a weak economy,” which, to all intents and purposes…needs a complete overhaul.
“Nigerians can easily see through the hypocrisy of Alhaji Atiku, who in accusing President Tinubu of poor response to the nation’s challenges and causing pains and despair, didn’t offer any better policy options in his run for the Presidency different from the economic reform agenda being pursued by President Tinubu,” the statement further read.
He added that reputable local and international agencies who understand the situation the Tinubu administration found itself have commended the administration, having seen a policy trajectory that is clearly positive, realistic and sustainable.
The presidency noted that the administration has also embarked on comprehensive fiscal and tax policy reform that will drive speedy recovery and spur economic growth and therefore its detractors “cannot stop the serious work of nation-building already set in motion by President Tinubu.”