Senate President Godswill Akpabio has stated that Bola Ahmed Tinubu inherited a “foamy economy” when he assumed office in 2023.
Akpabio made the remarks in Abuja on Friday, March 13, during the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) convention sub-committee on programmes and events, according to a statement released by Jackson Udom.
The Senate president said the National Assembly of Nigeria would continue to support Tinubu’s reform agenda. “The National Assembly will continue to back the agenda of the President Tinubu-led government in his efforts towards taking the country out of the woods,” he stated.
Akpabio, who previously served as a minister under former President Muhammadu Buhari, described the economy Tinubu inherited as struggling. “President Tinubu met what can be described as a foamy economy,” he said.
He noted that the president had to make difficult but necessary decisions to stabilise the economy, including exchange rate reforms and the removal of the fuel subsidy. “He had to put on his thinking cap by harmonising the exchange rate and removing the fuel subsidy, which was a drain on the economy,” Akpabio explained. He also highlighted tax reforms introduced to increase government revenue, particularly from the non-oil sector. “He has also put in place tax reforms, which have increased national revenue from the non-oil sector through the National Revenue Service,” he said.
Akpabio added that the reforms have led to higher allocations to sub-national governments and linked the recent wave of defections by opposition politicians into the APC to growing confidence in Tinubu’s policies. “The recent defections into the ruling APC are simply a show of gratitude based on what the administration has achieved since 2023,” he said.
His latest remarks contrast with comments he made in May 2022, when he praised Buhari as “the best president Nigeria could ever have at a time of difficult circumstances.”
