Bola Tinubu surprises observers with changes to central bank, anti-corruption agency and subsidies

Nigeria’s president Bola Tinubu took office in May as a continuity choice from his predecessor’s party. Yet less than three weeks later, the 71-year-old has come out swinging.

He has scrapped fuel subsidies, ceased to bolster the currency and suspended the heads of the central bank and anti-corruption agency, prompting investors to welcome the burgeoning overhaul of Africa’s largest economy.

This week they sent the price of Nigerian dollar bonds to their highest level since January as the market-friendly changes appeared to mark a shift from his predecessor’s statist approach.

Feyi Fawehinmi, an author and political commentator, said: “Tinubu’s early moves have all been plucking low-hanging fruits. [But] you still have to give him some credit for bothering to pluck them.

“The bar is incredibly low — [former president Muhammadu] Buhari did not bother to pluck any fruits, low hanging or not.”

Still, observers say Tinubu faces much knottier challenges if he is determined to boost growth and curb spiralling insecurity in the country of more than 200mn people. One in three Nigerians of working age is unemployed, and oil production, the lifeblood of the economy, has plummeted in recent years.

“Tinubu will eventually run out” of easy wins, said Fawehinmi. “The test starts then.”

Tinubu’s margin of victory in February’s election, the lowest since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, raised concerns that he would have little room to take economically sound but politically tough decisions.

The vote was widely seen as flawed and his victory is still being challenged in the courts by two opponents. The fractious country had few expectations of its new leader.

Yet on Tinubu’s first day in office late last month, he axed popular but ruinously expensive $10bn-a-year petrol subsidies, promising to channel the funds into social programmes for healthcare and education. Fuel prices tripled, leaving pricing at a rate that implies most of the previous subsidy has been cut.

More than 63 per cent of the country’s population are classed as “multidimensionally poor”; Tinubu is racing to reach a deal with labour unions to increase the minimum wage and soften the blow of the subsidy cut. But he has been spared the mass protests that followed a previous government’s move to slash subsidies in 2012.

omenka:
Bullion van has certainly bribed FT for this. FT was about to go under with debts only for Bullion Van to come to their rescue. It's nothing but an op ed.

🤡🤡

atobs4real:
Yes ooo.
Your analysis are very correct.
Big time changes

CodeTemplar:
Drastic change in approach will always be accompanied by renewed hope.
This is clearly a far cry from the one who just appointed 'integrity' team of silent stealers and watched the system regressed over eight good years.

omenka:
Bullion van has certainly bribed FT for this. FT was about to go under with debts only for Bullion Van to come to their rescue. It's nothing but an op ed.

🤡🤡