Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms including devaluation of the naira worsened poverty in Nigeria.
He spoke on Wednesday at the Financial Times Africa summit 2026 in London, United Kingdom (UK).
According to him, the sharp decline in the naira’s value had impoverished Nigerians and contributed to the country’s position as the world’s poverty capital.
He said: “We do not live in isolation as a country. We interact with the rest of the world. And overnight, you devalue the currency by 300 percent. The naira went from N500 to a dollar to N1,500 to a dollar.
“What that meant was that every Nigerian is made poor by 300 percent. That made Nigeria become the poverty capital of the world, which means Nigeria has the largest number of poor people in the world.
“You cannot say to me that that is good for Nigeria. You cannot say to me that that is good for us in any sense.”
In May 2023, Tinubu announced the removal of the petrol subsidy, a move that led to higher petrol prices and transport costs across the country.
In June 2023, his administration initiated foreign exchange reforms, allowing the naira to trade more freely and collapsing the multiple exchange-rate system.
The reforms were aimed at improving market efficiency, attracting foreign investment and addressing distortions in the currency market.
However, the reforms coincided with a sharp depreciation of the naira, rising inflation and higher cost of imported goods, putting additional pressure on households and businesses.
Rising cost of food, transportation and other essential commodities further eroded citizens’ purchasing power.
