Cost of living will soon drop – Onanuga assures Nigerians

Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, has assured Nigerians that a reduction in the cost of living is on the horizon as the administration’s economic reforms begin to yield results.

Speaking to journalists in Lagos on Sunday, Onanuga emphasized that the positive impact of President Tinubu’s economic policies would soon be felt across various sectors of the country.

He noted that the president had introduced progressive reforms and taken bold steps to address challenges that previous administrations avoided. According to him, although some of these reforms have caused initial hardship, they are designed to bring long-term benefits.

“Two years is too short a time to fully judge the impact of these policies,” Onanuga stated. “Policy experts generally evaluate reforms over a span of 10 to 12 years, and we are confident that Nigerians will soon begin to see improvements.”

“The President’s years in office began with clear policy directions and implementation.

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“A lot of reforms have taken place across sectors. The President has laid down many fundamentals that would ensure growth,” he stated.

He acknowledged that while the positives of the President’s actions over the past two years were gradually trickling down, a significant paradigm shift had occurred in the economy, addressing many pre-existing problems.

Onanuga, while referring to the situation before the subsidy removal, said, “There was no fuel. Many stations were saying no fuel, no fuel.

“What was happening at that time was that the NNPC had reached the bottom point. It had no money to import fuel, it claimed that it was owing suppliers about six billion dollars and the government was owing it about four trillion dollars. So, it could not import any more.”

Addressing concerns about borrowing, Onanuga clarified that it is a common practice globally, with even countries like the U.S. engaging in it.

“Nigeria has abundant resources that we are harnessing, but not as much readily available money as people might think,” he explained.

He stressed that borrowed funds were not squandered but rather used for their intended purposes, citing large-scale projects like the coastal roads that necessitate external financing due to their immense benefits.

Regarding currency devaluation, Onanuga explained that it is a universal economic principle, citing instances where even the UK and the US have resorted to it.

“Even UK and the US at some point devalued. These are economic principles that are universal and cannot be changed because it is Nigeria,” he asserted.

He added that the government had made tough decisions and simultaneously created opportunities through infrastructure development, noting that many ongoing road constructions were not initially part of the budget.

Onanuga further stated that Nigeria had seen an increase in production and a rise in disposable income.

He pointed to companies like Nestle and Nigerian Breweries, which initially faced challenges but were now sourcing materials locally and reporting profits.

“This economy has opened up opportunities in many forms for Nigerians. Those who can really exploit it. And they are making money,” he emphasised, giving examples of individuals making profits from exporting agricultural products like cocoa and even Zobo.

According to him, many companies are now investing and producing in Nigeria, and these positive shifts will soon become evident and tangible for all Nigerians.

Onanuga stressed the importance of public understanding of the economic context, saying, “We don’t do our people any good when we keep on pushing stories of gloom and doom without allowing them to see the truth, without allowing them to see the context, and without allowing them to know that there’s actually light at the end of the tunnel.”

(NAN)