Market News
Nigeria @65: The worst is over, hope rising for Nigeria – Tinubu - PUNCH
By Fawzi Kehinde
President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday said Nigeria’s economy had recorded significant improvements in foreign reserves, tax revenues, and trade balance, describing the gains as proof of resilience and diversification.
In his Independence Day broadcast to mark the country’s 65th anniversary, the President said, “We have a stronger foreign Reserve position than three years ago. Our external reserves increased to $42.03 billion this September — the highest since 2019.”
He explained that fiscal reforms were yielding results, with the country’s tax-to-GDP ratio improving in recent months.
“Our tax-to-GDP ratio has risen to 13.5 per cent from less than 10 per cent. The ratio is expected to increase further when the new tax law takes effect in January. The tax law is not about increasing the burden on existing taxpayers but about expanding the base to build the Nigeria we deserve and providing tax relief to low-income earners,” he said.
Tinubu also pointed to trade as an area of positive turnaround. “We are now a Net Exporter: Nigeria has recorded a trade surplus for five consecutive quarters. We are now selling more to the world than we are buying, a fundamental shift that strengthens our currency and creates jobs at home,” he said.
According to him, the progress marks the country’s gradual shift from overdependence on oil.
“Nigeria’s trade surplus increased by 44.3% in Q2 2025 to N7.46 trillion ($4.74 billion), the largest in about three years. Goods manufactured in Nigeria and exported jumped by 173%. Non-oil exports, as a component of our export trade, now represent 48 per cent, compared to oil exports, which account for 52 per cent. This signals that we are diversifying our economy and foreign exchange sources outside oil and gas,” Tinubu stated.
PUNCH Online reports that in 2022, reserves fell by $3.43 billion.
That decline reflected constraints from low oil production, capital flight, falling export earnings, and persistent external obligations.
