Federal Government has rejected criticisms of the national economy by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, dismissing his assessment as a snapshot that overlooks verifiable structural achievements.
This was contained in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
Emphasizing claims that the country is drifting economically, the Federal Government enumerated substantial recovery figures across key macro-economic metrics.
Meanwhile, dollar-denominated Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has rebounded by approximately 49%, surging from a post-exchange-rate reset low of about $253 billion to approximately $377 billion. The nominal Naira GDP has expanded from roughly ₦314 trillion to about ₦530 trillion, driven by broader domestic economic activity.
The administration maintained that the country is not over-borrowed, pointing to a conservative debt-to-GDP ratio of barely 40%.
According to Bayo Onanuga, service-to-revenue ratio has dropped sharply from a near-total 100% in December 2022 to under 60%, reflecting improved revenue mobilization and enhanced fiscal efficiency.
Defending the removal of the fuel subsidy, the government noted that the policy has directly boosted revenues accruing to states and local governments through the Federation Account.
According to the statement, this expanded fiscal space has empowered sub national governments to accelerate investments in critical infrastructure, healthcare, education, and workers’ welfare, laying a solid foundation for true fiscal federalism.
The Federal Government also addressed allegations regarding an unrecorded ₦7.98 trillion oil windfall. It explained that incremental gains from higher crude prices averaging around $90 for Brent against a budget benchmark of $64.85 which have been balanced by domestic production shortfalls averaging 1.6 million barrels per day.
RN
