Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has acknowledged that President Bola Tinubu’s administration has made some progress in stabilising the foreign exchange market by adopting market-based principles.
Speaking in an interview with News Central Television, Ezekwesili, however, said the improvement in macroeconomic indicators has yet to translate into better living conditions for most Nigerians.
She noted that despite the government’s economic reforms, many citizens continue to struggle with widespread poverty and a rising cost of living.
“The only thing that, as I said at the beginning, we can give to them is that they are getting a handle on macroeconomic stability. So, for example, the volatility we have with foreign exchange rate is quieter because they are abiding by market principles for foreign exchange policy.
“Then you look at inflation. Inflation, even though they use the methodology to crash it in terms of the numbers, but the real thing is that the cost of living for the average citizen is still pretty high,” she said.
The former minister also criticised the administration’s handling of inflation, arguing that the sharp increase in prices could have been avoided and was partly driven by a combination of policy decisions.
Ezekwesili stressed that Nigeria’s economic performance should not be assessed solely through macroeconomic indicators, noting that deeper structural challenges continue to affect the economy.
She identified low productivity as one of the major obstacles to economic growth, job creation and improved household incomes.
According to her, Nigeria’s economic difficulties are also linked to structural imbalances created by policy choices that have failed to adequately address barriers to productivity and economic opportunities.
