Atiku is out of touch with Nigeria’s reality – Presidency

The Presidency has dismissed Atiku Abubakar’s recent statement, saying the former vice president is out of touch with the real situation in Nigeria.

Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga said Atiku’s claim that hunger is ravaging the country, and his comparison of Nigeria’s situation to France before the 1789 Revolution or Russia before the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, is misleading and far from reality.

According to Onanuga, the latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show a different picture. Inflation has dropped for the fifth month in a row, and Nigeria recently recorded a huge trade surplus, with non-oil exports contributing almost as much as oil exports.

He added that foreign reserves are rising again, now close to $42 billion, compared to $32 billion when President Tinubu took office.

He said the government has cleared over $7 billion in debts, including $800 million owed to international airlines.

Onanuga also claimed that under Tinubu, Nigeria is generating record revenues, with states now able to pay salaries and pensions on time while still having funds left for development projects. He described this as a level of progress not seen before.

“Under President Tinubu, Nigeria is recording unprecedented revenues. States are now able to pay salaries and gratuities promptly and still have surplus funds for capital and social projects—an achievement not previously witnessed at this scale, he said in a statement on his X handle on Monday.

He argued that the problems facing the country today began during the PDP years when Atiku was vice president, blaming their mismanagement for current challenges. In his words, Tinubu’s administration is fixing those mistakes through bold reforms.

Onanuga stressed that after two years and five months, Nigerians are already seeing the results of President Tinubu’s leadership, even if Atiku and his allies refuse to acknowledge the progress.

Atiku is out of touch with Nigeria’s reality – Presidency