Tinubu shifts focus from reform to living costs and jobs

President Bola Tinubu said Nigeria had moved beyond the emergency phase of economic reforms and would now focus on lowering living costs, creating jobs and expanding industry, while acknowledging that many households continue to struggle with basic expenses. In his Independence Day address on October 1, he presented economic indicators as signs of stabilization and said the government’s next task was to make progress tangible for Nigerians. Tinubu said the economy grew by more than 4% in 2026, inflation had fallen from its peak, foreign reserves had increased and the foreign-exchange market had stabilized. He also said non-oil exports generated more than $6 billion in 2025, which he described as the country’s highest level. These figures were claims made in the address; the reports did not include underlying data to independently verify them. The president also attributed improvements in the oil sector partly to reduced oil theft, but gave no measure or comparison period for the decline. He said both oil and non-oil sectors contributed to growth and argued that the reforms had addressed longstanding weaknesses in the economy.