The Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs (Office of the Vice President), Tope Fasua, has expressed optimism that Nigeria’s inflation rate will decline to single digits, citing the strengthening of the naira, falling food prices, and ongoing economic reforms.
Speaking with the news men today, Fasua said recent economic indicators show that progress is being made under the Tinubu administration.
“Nigeria’s inflation is certainly going down to single digits and that’s not the only index that we can see,” he said. “Yesterday, the naira closed at ₦1,497 to the dollar for the first time in more than eight months. We clocked that region.”
Fasua explained that the two key drivers of inflation food and exchange rates are stabilising. “Exchange rate has stabilised and is actually strengthening via market forces without anybody dictating the rate. And food prices are also going down,” he said.
He however highlighted insights from agriculture expert African Farmer Magaji, who noted that for the first time in 26 years, tomato prices did not spike between May and July, an indicator of greater stability in food supply.
According to Fasua, while some farmers have complained that government interventions are pushing down prices and affecting them, the majority of Nigerians are benefiting from more affordable food.
Comparing Nigeria’s recovery to the growth of China’s bamboo tree, Fasua argued that the reforms will soon yield rapid results. “They plant it and water it for five years and you think nothing is happening, but when it begins to grow, it grows five meters a day. I think President Tinubu and his administration are getting it right. Unfortunately for the opposition, they just have to swallow the bitter pill,” he added.
