President Tinubu’s courageous leadership resetting Nigerian economy –Minister

*Dr. Dele Alake, Minister for Solid Minerals Development, highlights the core of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration’s ongoing reforms, maintaining they are worthy, practical measures aimed at resetting the Nigerian economy

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

The Federal Government says President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has continued to take drastic steps to stop economic mismanagement, block leakages, and reform the Nigerian economy for the greater good of the citizenry.

ConsumerConnect reports Dr. Dele Alake, Honourable Minister for Solid Minerals Development (MSMD), stated this while speaking at the 2026 Nigeria Revenue Service – NRS-MSMD Joint Stakeholder Sensitisation (North Central) forum, in Abuja, FCT.

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The theme of the joint sensitisation programme was: “From Resource to Revenue: Aligning Solid Minerals Operations with the 2025 Tax Reform Act”.

Underlining the essence of leadership while speaking, Dr. Alake asserted that President Tinubu has demonstrated courage in re-engineering the country’s economy.

He also said the previous administrations lacked the needed courage to reset the Nigerian economy, mindset, values, and orientation.

The Minister reassured Nigerians that President Tinubu administration’s ongoing reforms are aimed at resetting the economy.

On removal of fuel subsidy

Going down the memory lane, Alake maintained the Tinubu administration’s removal of fuel subsidy May 29, 2023, actually stopped the Nigerian economy from crashing at momentous time.

The Minister also traced Nigeria’s economic decline pre-Tinubu’s administration to a shift from local production in 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s to heavy Importation.

How wholesale importations weakened the Naira

Alake emphasised that societal shift towards a consumptive mentality, had led to heavy importation of goods that could be produced locally.

This, in turn, has led to the closure of several factories resulting in job losses in the West African country.

The importations weakened the Naira, he said, emphasising that the strength of the Naira, Nigeria’s currency, was stronger up till the early 1980s.

As regards the strength of the Naira in the early 1980s, he said that the official exchange rate of $1 was 52 Kobos, while at the black market it was $1 to 80 Kobos.

Kania Maliki A., Head of Press and Public Relations Department at the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, Thursday, May 21, 2026, also quoted Dr. Alake in a statement to have said: “We were importing everything importable, including toothpicks, including orange juice.

“Things that we could produce internally that we were producing before, when our currency was strong.”

The Minister for Solid Minerals Development stated: “I was privileged to have lived in this country when the Naira was strong, and in the early 80s I bought $1 for 80 Kobos.

“$1 for 80 Kobo, that wasn’t even the official rate. Then the official rate was 52 Kobo.”

He equally criticised past administrations for failing to address socio-economic challenges, which led to spending about $600 million to import items, such as wigs and a reliance on borrowing to pay workers’ salaries.

The Minister said the previous leaderships lacked the courage to reset the Nigerian economy, mindset, values, and orientation respectively.

Key measures to address identified economic mismanagement

Alake stated that in a move to address the ugly trend, the Tinubu administration took drastic steps to stop economic mismanagement, block leakages, and reform the economy.

According to him, without President Tinubu’s taking the actions in assumption of duty since May 29, 2023, Nigeria would have fallen into severe economic crisis.

The Minister hinted there would have been dire consequences, especially if fuel subsidies were not removed 2023 by the Tinubu-led administration.

The Minister quipped: “What would have happened to Nigeria by September 2023, if the president had not removed fuel subsidy, the economy would have crashed completely.

“Because by the time this government came into power, or even long before it came into power, this country was borrowing money to pay salaries, not to capitalise the economy, but to pay salaries with current expenditure, not capital.”

He further explained: “When a society or a nation borrows to pay salaries, you know what that means.

“There can be no development. At some point when borrowing became too difficult, and we’re having difficulties, because our credit ratings crashed too.”

Alake said: “So, the borrowing agencies were very skeptical of looking at us.

“What did we start to do? We started to print currency locally, we printed over 20 trillion.”

Significance of ongoing reforms, by Alake

Expatiating on far-reaching objectives of the current reforms, Dr. Alake likened the Tinubu administration’s efforts to attempts to stop digging, and prevent the economy from sinking deeper into a hole.

In regard to the fundamental importance of the ongoing reforms, the Minister stressed there is a need to build structures to stay afloat, and eventually emerge from the economic crisis.

In his remarks at the event, Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, focused on the need to reposition the industry to boost Nigeria’s economic diversification, job creation, and sustainable national development.

Engr. Yabo noted the critical need for compliance, transparency, and collaboration with the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) to optimise revenues from the solid minerals sector of the Nigerian economy

The Permanent Secretary of MSMD also emphasised that aligning mining operations with the 2025 Tax Reform Act is crucial to eliminating revenue leakages while ensuring the West African country derives real value from its minerals wealth.

Yabo as well touched on efforts at strengthening the Royalty Framework.

The Permanent Secretary advocated a unified effort from industry operators, regulators, and leaders to fully understand and implement the new royalty administration frameworks towards boosting the government revenue, industry growth and development.

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