President Bola Tinubu’s fiscal reforms are shifting Nigeria from oil dependence toward a tax-driven revenue economy, former Abia State House of Assembly Speaker, Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji, has said.
Abuja lawyer Saifuddeen Coomassie backed the assessment, describing the reforms as evidence of a leader prioritising long-term national interest over short-term political convenience.
Orji, an All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Representatives candidate for Ikwuano/Umuahia in next year’s election, appraised Tinubu’s reforms in an opinion article titled ‘From Crude to Cash: How Tinubu’s Fiscal Reset is Redefining Nigeria’s Revenue Economy’.
He said the administration inherited a budget tied to crude oil prices and has rebuilt public finance through subsidy removal, digital tax collection and an expanded non-oil revenue base.
Orji cited the May 2023 petrol subsidy removal as the reset’s starting point, noting that Federation revenue rose from N16.8 trillion in 2023 to N31.9 trillion in 2024, while allocations to states and local governments rose from N6.16 trillion to N15.26 trillion over the same period.
Orji said the reforms now target telecommunications, financial services, manufacturing, trade and the digital economy, including fintech firms, e-commerce platforms and content creators, through improved compliance and data matching.
‘No economy grows sustainably when only oil companies and big banks pay taxes while millions of profitable businesses stay off the books,’ he said.
He pointed to a narrowing fiscal deficit, stronger external reserves and clearance of a $7 billion foreign exchange backlog as signs of growing investor confidence, while acknowledging the toll of higher transport, food and energy costs on households. ‘The social contract of these reforms is still being negotiated. The promise is that the gains will be recycled into infrastructure, education and health,’ he said.
Coomassie, speaking to reporters in Abuja, said Tinubu’s decisions to remove fuel subsidies, unify foreign exchange rates and pursue tax reforms reflected a willingness to absorb political pain rather than protect his popularity. He accused past administrations of avoiding similar reforms for fear of electoral backlash.
‘If President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was in Aso Rock to chase money or simply to cling to power, he would have taken the easy road. He would have continued the subsidy. He would have kept multiple exchange rates. He chose the hard path because he chose Nigeria,’ Coomassie said.
With the 2027 general election approaching, Coomassie urged voters to judge Tinubu on the long-term impact of his policies, saying the president deserves a second term to complete the reforms.