Tinubu’s July 2023 Economic Address: What He Promised and What Nigeria Got

When President Bola Tinubu addressed Nigerians on July 31 2023 the country was in economic pain. Fuel prices had just spiked following subsidy removal. The naira was in freefall after exchange rate unification. Food prices were climbing. Nigerians were angry and anxious.

The President’s address was a direct attempt to explain the pain, defend the reforms and lay out a roadmap for recovery. He made specific, measurable promises. Two and a half years later we can now assess what was delivered, what fell short and what is still in progress.

Promise 1: Subsidy Removal Would Free Up Trillions for Nigerians

Tinubu argued that the fuel subsidy was funneling trillions of naira into the pockets of a small elite rather than funding healthcare, education, housing and infrastructure. Removing it would redirect that wealth to ordinary Nigerians.

What happened:

Nigeria’s total revenue collection rose from ₦19.9 trillion in 2023 to ₦25.2 trillion in 2024 — and as of August 2025 had already reached ₦27.8 trillion, surpassing the full year revenue target of ₦18.32 trillion. The fiscal numbers improved dramatically. Record monthly federal distributions — such as ₦3.64 trillion in September 2025 — significantly boosted subnational revenue , giving states more resources to fund local projects.

However the immediate human cost was severe. Fuel prices tripled. Transportation costs surged. Food prices followed. The relief Tinubu promised took far longer to materialize than most Nigerians expected or could endure.

Verdict: Partial delivery — fiscal gains are real but the promised cushioning was slow and insufficient.

Promise 2: Taming Inflation

Tinubu acknowledged in his July 2023 address that the cost of fuel had risen and food prices had followed. He pledged to monitor inflation and intervene when necessary.

What happened:

Tinubu first pledged to reduce inflation to around 15% by end of 2025 — a target reaffirmed by the Finance Ministry in early 2025. Inflation dropped by over half from a peak of 34.6% in November 2024 to 15.10% in January 2026 — reflecting over nine months of consistent disinflation. Food inflation — the figure that matters most to ordinary Nigerian households — fell to 8.89% in January 2026, its first single-digit reading in 128 months and the lowest level in 174 months.

The inflation target was essentially met — but the journey there put millions of Nigerians through extraordinary hardship.

Verdict: Promise delivered — but at enormous cost to Nigerian households.

Promise 3: N125 Billion for MSMEs and Nano Businesses

The President specifically promised N50,000 grants to 1 million nano businesses — targeting 1,300 businesses in each of Nigeria’s 774 local governments — plus N75 billion in loans to 100,000 MSMEs and startups at 9% interest.

What happened:

Implementation was patchy and slow. Many of the promised nano business grants did not reach their intended beneficiaries at the scale announced. However the Federal Government subsequently established a ₦200 billion intervention fund for MSMEs and manufacturers , suggesting the MSME support commitment evolved in scale if not always in execution speed.

Verdict: Partially delivered — ambition was real but execution fell short of the specific targets announced.

Promise 4: N75 Billion for Manufacturing

Tinubu promised N75 billion to fund 75 manufacturing enterprises at 9% interest — N1 billion per enterprise — to create jobs and drive economic transformation.

What happened:

According to the National Bureau of Statistics Nigeria’s nominal GDP stood at ₦372.82 trillion in 2024, up from ₦314.02 trillion in 2023 — though it is important to note that this increase reflects a statistical rebasing exercise that changed the base year from 2010 to 2019, rather than actual new economic growth. Africa Check noted that while the rebased GDP looks better on paper, economists cautioned that Nigerians continue to face harsh economic realities on the ground.

On real GDP growth, Nigeria recorded real GDP growth of 3.38% in 2024 according to NBS rebased figures. For foreign direct investment, FDI into Nigeria stood at $103.82 million in Q3 2024 according to NBS capital importation data — significantly lower than the $720 million figure previously cited which could not be verified from official sources and has been removed.

Verdict: Nigeria’s broader economic metrics showed real improvement. However there is no publicly available confirmation that the specific programme of funding exactly 75 manufacturing enterprises with N1 billion each at 9% interest — as announced in the July 2023 address — was fully implemented as described.

Promise 5: Tax Reform

Tinubu committed to reviewing tax and fiscal policies to increase Nigeria’s revenue-to-GDP ratio from under 10% to 18%.

What happened:

On June 26 2025 President Tinubu signed into law four major tax reform bills — the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, Nigeria Tax Administration Act 2025, Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Act 2025 and Joint Revenue Board Establishment Act 2025. These landmark reforms take effect from January 2026 and represent the most significant overhaul of Nigeria’s tax system in decades. Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio has risen to 13.5% — up from less than 10% when Tinubu took office.

Verdict: Strong delivery — the tax reform commitment is one of the clearest kept promises of the administration.

Promise 6: Infrastructure Investment

The President promised N100 billion for 3,000 CNG-fueled buses for mass transit plus significant road and infrastructure investment.

What happened:

On June 6 2025 Tinubu flagged off a series of major infrastructure projects including federal highways, bridges and transport corridors. Key projects including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Road are in various stages of progress. The 2026 budget allocates ₦3.56 trillion to infrastructure — a significant commitment on paper.

Verdict: Work in progress — projects are moving but the mass transit bus programme has not been as visible as promised.

The Overall Assessment

Two and a half years after that July 2023 address the honest verdict is mixed. The macroeconomic picture has improved considerably — inflation is down, revenue is up, GDP is growing, foreign reserves are at a seven-year high and investor confidence has returned.

But the microeconomic reality for ordinary Nigerians — the cost of food, transportation, school fees and healthcare — improved much more slowly than the headline numbers suggest. Unlike his tenure as Lagos governor, Tinubu’s presidential administration has prioritized policies targeted towards long-term sustainable solutions with less focus on quick wins. Even with such reforms, effective welfare programmes are needed to cushion the effects on the worst off.

The July 2023 speech was not just an economic statement — it was a social contract. The macroeconomic side of that contract is being delivered. The human side still has significant ground to cover.

2023 Economic Transcript

My fellow citizens,

Click to see the full transcript of President Tinubu’s July 31 2023 address in its entirety.

1. I want to talk to you about our economy. It is important that you understand the reasons for the policy measures I have taken to combat the serious economic challenges this nation has long faced.
2. I am not going to talk in difficult terms by dwelling on economic jargon and concepts. I will speak in plain, clear language so that you know where I stand. More importantly, so that you see and hopefully will share my vision regarding the journey to a better, more productive economy for our beloved country.
3. For several years, I have consistently maintained the position that the fuel subsidy had to go. This once beneficial measure had outlived its usefulness. The subsidy cost us trillions of Naira yearly. Such a vast sum of money would have been better spent on public transportation, healthcare, schools, housing and even national security. Instead, it was being funnelled into the deep pockets and lavish bank accounts of a select group of individuals.
4. This group had amassed so much wealth and power that they became a serious threat to the fairness of our economy and the integrity of our democratic governance. To be blunt, Nigeria could never become the society it was intended to be as long as such small, powerful yet unelected groups hold enormous influence over our political economy and the institutions that govern it.
5. The whims of the few should never hold dominant sway over the hopes and aspirations of the many. If we are to be a democracy, the people and not the power of money must be sovereign.
6. The preceding administration saw this looming danger as well. Indeed, it made no provision in the 2023 Appropriations for subsidy after June this year. Removal of this once helpful device that had transformed into a millstone around the country’s neck had become inevitable.
7. Also, the multiple exchange rate system that had been established became nothing but a highway of currency speculation. It diverted money that should have been used to create jobs, build factories and businesses for millions of people. Our national wealth was doled on favourable terms to a handful of people who have been made filthy rich simply by moving money from one hand to another. This too was extremely unfair.
8. It also compounded the threat that the illicit and mass accumulation of money posed to the future of our democratic system and its economy.
9. I had promised to reform the economy for the long-term good by fighting the major imbalances that had plagued our economy. Ending the subsidy and the preferential exchange rate system were key to this fight. This fight is to define the fate and future of our nation. Much is in the balance.
10. Thus, the defects in our economy immensely profited a tiny elite, the elite of the elite you might call them. As we moved to fight the flaws in the economy, the people who grow rich from them, predictably, will fight back through every means necessary.
11. Our economy is going through a tough patch and you are being hurt by it. The cost of fuel has gone up. Food and other prices have followed it. Households and businesses struggle. Things seem anxious and uncertain. I understand the hardship you face. I wish there were other ways. But there is not. If there were, I would have taken that route as I came here to help not hurt the people and nation that I love.
12. What I can offer in the immediate is to reduce the burden our current economic situation has imposed on all of us, most especially on businesses, the working class and the most vulnerable among us.
13. Already, the Federal Government is working closely with states and local governments to implement interventions that will cushion the pains of our people across socio-economic brackets.
14. Earlier this month, I signed four (4) Executive Orders in keeping with my electoral promise to address unfriendly fiscal policies and multiple taxes that are stifling the business environment. These Executive Orders on suspension and deferred commencement of some taxes will provide the necessary buffers and headroom to businesses in the manufacturing sector to continue to thrive and expand.
15. To strengthen the manufacturing sector, increase its capacity to expand and create good paying jobs, we are going to spend N75 billion between July 2023 and March 2024. Our objective is to fund 75 enterprises with great potential to kick-start a sustainable economic growth, accelerate structural transformation and improve productivity. Each of the 75 manufacturing enterprises will be able to access N1 Billion credit at 9% per annum with maximum of 60 months repayment for long term loans and 12 months for working capital.
16. Our administration recognises the importance of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and the informal sector as drivers of growth. We are going to energise this very important sector with N125 billion.
17. Out of the sum, we will spend N50 billion on Conditional Grant to 1 million nano businesses between now and March 2024. Our target is to give N50,000 each to 1,300 nano business owners in each of the 774 local governments across the country.
18. Ultimately, this programme will further drive financial inclusion by onboarding beneficiaries into the formal banking system. In like manner, we will fund 100,000 MSMEs and start-ups with N75 billion. Under this scheme, each enterprise promoter will be able to get between N500,000 to N1million at 9% interest per annum and a repayment period of 36 months.

22. To further ensure that prices of food items remain affordable, we have had a multi-stakeholder engagement with various farmers’ associations and operators within the agricultural value chain.
23. In the short and immediate terms, we will ensure staple foods are available and affordable. To this end, I have ordered the release of 200,000 Metric Tonnes of grains from strategic reserves to households across the 36 states and FCT to moderate prices. We are also providing 225,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer, seedlings and other inputs to farmers who are committed to our food security agenda.
24. Our plan to support cultivation of 500,000 hectares of farmland and all-year-round farming practice remains on course. To be specific, N200 billion out of the N500 billion approved by the National Assembly will be disbursed as follows:
25. This expansive agricultural programme will be implemented targeting small-holder farmers and leveraging large-scale private sector players in the agric business with strong performance record.
26. In this regard, the expertise of Development Finance Institutions, commercial banks and microfinance banks will be tapped into to develop a viable and an appropriate transaction structure for all stakeholders.
27. Fellow Nigerians, I made a solemn pledge to work for you. How to improve your welfare and living condition is of paramount importance to me and it’s the only thing that keeps me up day and night.
28. It is in the light of this that I approved the Infrastructure Support Fund for the States. This new Infrastructure Fund will enable States to intervene and invest in critical areas and bring relief to many of the pain points as well as revamp our decaying healthcare and educational Infrastructure.
29. The fund will also bring improvements to rural access roads to ease evacuation of farm produce to markets. With the fund, our states will become more competitive and on a stronger financial footing to deliver economic prosperity to Nigerians.
30. Part of our programme is to roll out buses across the states and local governments for mass transit at a much more affordable rate. We have made provision to invest N100 billion between now and March 2024 to acquire 3000 units of 20-seater CNG-fuelled buses.
31. These buses will be shared to major transportation companies in the states, using the intensity of travel per capital. Participating transport companies will be able to access credit under this facility at 9% per annum with 60 months repayment period.
32. In the same vein, we are also working in collaboration with the labour unions to introduce a new national minimum wage for workers. I want to tell our workers this: your salary review is coming.
33. Once we agree on the new minimum wage and general upward review, we will make budget provision for it for immediate implementation.
34. I want to use this opportunity to salute many private employers in the Organized Private Sector who have already implemented general salary review for employees.
35. Fellow Nigerians, this period may be hard on us and there is no doubt about it that it is tough on us. But I urge you all to look beyond the present temporary pains and aim at the larger picture. All of our good and helpful plans are in the works. More importantly, I know that they will work.
36. Sadly, there was an unavoidable lag between subsidy removal and these plans coming fully online. However, we are swiftly closing the time gap. I plead with you to please have faith in our ability to deliver and in our concern for your well-being.
37. We will get out of this turbulence. And, due to the measures we have taken, Nigeria will be better equipped and able to take advantage of the future that awaits her.
38. In a little over two months, we have saved over a trillion Naira that would have been squandered on the unproductive fuel subsidy which only benefitted smugglers and fraudsters. That money will now be used more directly and more beneficially for you and your families.
39. For example, we shall fulfill our promise to make education more affordable to all and provide loans to higher education students who may need them. No Nigerian student will have to abandon his or her education because of lack of money.
40. Our commitment is to promote the greatest good for the greatest number of our people. On this principle, we shall never falter.
41. We are also monitoring the effects of the exchange rate and inflation on gasoline prices. If and when necessary, we will intervene.
42. I assure you my fellow country men and women that we are exiting the darkness to enter a new and glorious dawn.
43. Now, I must get back to work in order to make this vision come true.
44. Thank you all for listening and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

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