Onanuga to Atiku: Unless You’re Still in Dubai, You Should See Tinubu’s Reforms

Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu, has accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of letting personal grievances cloud his judgment on Nigeria’s current administration.

“Unless he still lives in Dubai,” Onanuga quipped, “he ought to admit that in just two years, President Bola Tinubu’s administration has embarked on the most ambitious and audacious economic and institutional reforms ever seen in decades.”

Atiku, who recently criticized the administration’s policies as “anti-people,” was reminded by Onanuga that even his own 2023 campaign promised similar tough reforms, including fuel subsidy removal and foreign exchange unification — reforms successive administrations, including Obasanjo-Atiku, acknowledged but failed to deliver.

Onanuga defended Tinubu’s record, pointing to the doubling of the national minimum wage to ₦70,000, a surge in social safety net investments, and over 600,000 students benefitting from the new loan scheme. He also highlighted that “foreign investors now see Nigeria as an irresistible destination,” with the Nigerian Exchange All-Share Index leaping from 50,000 to over 110,000 since 2023.

Also Read: Even APC Is Involved in Coalition to Stop Tinubu’s Second Term – Atiku

Addressing claims of reckless borrowing, Onanuga countered that the administration has reduced Nigeria’s debt service ratio from 93% to 60%, paid off the $3.4 billion IMF Covid-era loan, and discontinued deficit financing through Ways & Means.

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“Criticism must be elevated and constructive,” Onanuga urged. “Otherwise, opposition statements will be dismissed as mere partisan rhetoric and cheap talk.”

As political tensions heat up, the Tinubu camp seems ready for opposition — but expects, as Onanuga framed it, “solutions, not just criticism.”