Tinubu’s economic reforms have impoverished Nigerians by 300% — Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, accusing his administration of worsening poverty through the sharp depreciation of the naira.

According to TheCable, Obasanjo spoke on Wednesday at the Financial Times Africa Summit 2026 in London, United Kingdom.

Obasanjo faults naira devaluation under Tinubu

“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,” Obasanjo said.

“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.”

Tinubu introduced fuel subsidy removal and foreign exchange reforms in 2023.