IMPI: Tinubu’s Reforms Outperform Previous Administrations in Driving Economic Growth
Oru Leonard
The Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI), has declared that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has made greater efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s economy and attract foreign investment than previous governments did despite benefiting from substantial oil revenues.
The policy think tank argued that successive administrations between 1999 and 2015 failed to translate the country’s enormous oil windfalls into sustainable industrial development, infrastructure and economic diversification.
In a policy statement signed by its Chairman, Dr Omoniyi Akinsiju, IMPI said previous governments largely channelled surplus oil revenues into short-term consumption, debt repayments and the funding of the Excess Crude Account (ECA), which it described as lacking constitutional backing.
The group recalled that the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo spent $12 billion to settle Paris Club debts, while the ECA, which reportedly accumulated $22 billion in 2008, declined to less than $3 billion by 2014 following repeated withdrawals.
According to IMPI, much of the money was spent on recurrent government expenditure rather than productive infrastructure and long-term economic investments.
It also criticised the foreign exchange management policies of the period, arguing that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) used foreign exchange earnings to artificially sustain the Naira, encourage cheap consumer imports and finance the importation of refined petroleum products while local refineries remained largely dysfunctional.
The think tank maintained that the collapse in international oil prices in late 2014 exposed Nigeria’s economic weaknesses, resulting in a currency crisis and the country’s first major recession in decades in 2016, alongside a sharp increase in poverty.
It further noted that the structural weaknesses inherited from that period contributed to successive current account deficits, which reached $17 billion in 2019 and $15.8 billion in 2020.
However, IMPI said the Tinubu administration introduced significant market-oriented reforms in 2023 through foreign exchange market unification and the removal of petrol subsidies.
Although the reforms initially triggered inflationary pressures and currency depreciation, the organisation argued that they helped reposition Nigeria’s external economic balance.
It said Nigeria had subsequently recorded sustained current account and merchandise trade surpluses, while gross foreign reserves increased from $45 billion to $55 billion by the third quarter of 2026, providing more than 14 months of import cover.
IMPI described the government’s policy direction as a difficult but necessary departure from unsustainable subsidies and market distortions towards an economy driven by productivity, competitiveness and stronger external reserves.
Highlighting other factors supporting economic recovery, the think tank said increased domestic refining capacity had helped transform Nigeria from a major importer of refined petroleum products into a regional supplier, particularly within West Africa.
It also identified rising non-oil exports, including agricultural commodities, solid minerals and industrial chemicals, as evidence of progress towards economic diversification.
The organisation further cited improved sovereign credit ratings and outlooks by international agencies, including Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch, as indicators of renewed investor confidence.
According to IMPI, these developments have contributed to reduced international borrowing costs and significant gains in the Nigerian capital market.
