Nigeria presidency rejects Atiku's economic criticism

The Nigerian presidency has issued a comprehensive rebuttal to economic criticisms leveled by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, asserting that the country's reform program is yielding positive results and that the economy has significantly recovered from its initial painful adjustments. The response, delivered by Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga on August 2, 2026, addresses allegations of fiscal recklessness, excessive borrowing, and mismanagement of subsidy removal and tax policies.

Onanuga argued that Atiku's critique relies on outdated data from 2024 and fails to account for subsequent economic progress. He stated that Nigeria's dollar-denominated Gross Domestic Product has recovered from approximately $253 billion after the exchange rate adjustment to about $377 billion, a roughly 49 percent increase. Similarly, the naira GDP has expanded from about 314 trillion naira in 2024 to around 530 trillion naira.

Defending the administration's borrowing, the presidency maintained that Nigeria's debt-to-GDP ratio remains relatively modest at barely 40 percent and that the debt service-to-revenue ratio has declined from nearly 100 percent...