Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State has attested that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration rescued Nigeria’s economy from imminent collapse and returned public finances to a path of solvency through bold structural reforms.
Speaking on June 12 at “The Platform Nigeria”, a civic engagement forum organised by The Covenant Nation and hosted by Pastor Poju Oyemade in Lagos, Governor Soludo praised the Tinubu administration’s economic agenda and called for a national rebirth rooted in ethics, ideology, and citizen responsibility.
According statement issued on Friday by Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Soludo, who is a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said “the audacious structural reforms embarked upon by the current administration of HE Bola Ahmed Tinubu have rescued the economy from the tipping point”.
Soludo recounted that the economy, as of May 2023, resembled a “standing dead horse,” warning that public finances were on the verge of insolvency with potentially dire consequences, including mass layoffs and salary arrears.
“Public finance is back on a solvency path, and macro fundamentals are recovering positively,” he declared.
Backing his position with endorsements from global financial institutions, Soludo said: “The endorsements by the World Bank, IMF, London Financial Times, rating agencies—Fitch, Moody’s—are well deserved.”
He pointed out that although he had historically critiqued these institutions, their current praise for Nigeria’s reform trajectory should not be dismissed.
“Funny enough, when these institutions criticise the government, some people use them to validate their criticisms, but when the same institutions give a positive report, they are derided as ‘neoliberal, out-of-touch institutions’,” he remarked.
Soludo urged public commentators to embrace a more rigorous and fact-based approach to analysing national economic policies.
“Many analysts have interesting ‘opinions’, but I urge them to go deeper: conduct rigorous counterfactual analysis and provide credible alternatives! As a friend said recently, the task is always easy, especially if you are not the one doing it,” he noted.
While acknowledging Nigeria’s broad reform needs—ranging from security to infrastructure and constitutional review—the Anambra Governor argued that implementation remains the key challenge, especially in a resource-constrained and unequal society.
He called for a fundamental national rebirth grounded not just in policies, but in values.
“We must deliberately create a critical mass of ‘new Nigerians’—who believe in her and are ready, if necessary, to die for her. No nation has prospered sustainably without a critical mass of patriotic, vigilant and actively participatory citizenry”, Soludo said.
Lamenting the erosion of values such as hard work and integrity, Soludo warned against a prevailing culture that glorifies wealth without effort.
“The ‘culture’ that celebrates and expects something for nothing or wealth without work must give way to a culture that rewards and celebrates hard work, enterprise and integrity,” he asserted.
He identified the Tinubu administration’s Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), alongside Anambra State’s One Youth, Two Skills programme and expanded education and healthcare support, as pivotal investments in Nigeria’s human capital.
“The shortest answer is to give the citizens stakes in the society by investing in their future… These programs excite the youths/students and could hopefully create ‘stakeholders’ in future projects,” he said.
The APGA governor also warned of the damage caused by superstitions about instant wealth and called for a legislative and educational campaign to combat such beliefs.
“It is my thesis that a society where no one asks/cares about sources of livelihood or where most people expect and celebrate unearned/free money is one where transactional governance will always trump transformational leadership,” he said.
Soludo concluded by urging for ideological clarity and unity across political lines to foster a new national culture.
“We must break this vicious ‘culture’ and intentionally promote ethical-value rebirth. This is a national emergency requiring urgent national conversation,” he said.
