Businesses, households puncture Tinubu’s economic stability claims

•Cite worsening living conditions, rising hardship

•CPPE urges FG to address key economic problems

By Chinwendu Obienyi

While President Bola Tinubu has defended his administration’s economic reforms as necessary measures that have restored stability and credibility to economic management, businesses and households across the country continue to grapple with the harsh realities of rising costs, weakened purchasing power and declining living standards.

In his Democracy Day address at the weekend, President Bola Tinubu said the reforms introduced since 2023 had helped stabilise the economy, improve fiscal transparency, increase federation revenues, and restore investor confidence.

Tinubu also highlighted growth in investments across key sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, energy, technology, mining, transportation, and the creative industry.

The President further noted that more than 1,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) had been certified for export, while non-oil exports recorded a 21 per cent increase last year.

“Yet, many Nigerians still face economic hardship. We remain focused on reducing inflation, expanding food production, creating jobs, improving living standards, rebuilding confidence in our economy, and creating conditions for sustainable prosperity.

“We are moving from uncertainty to stability. The next phase is about accelerating growth and ensuring the benefits are felt in every home, every community, and every region. We believe that Democracy must be felt in the pocket”, he said.

However, economic analysts and business operators have argued that the benefits of the reforms are yet to translate into tangible improvements in the welfare of ordinary Nigerians.

According to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) May 2026 Business Expectations Survey (BES), insecurity, multiple taxation, high interest rates and other cost-related pressures remain the biggest challenges confronting businesses in Nigeria, despite growing optimism about the country’s economic outlook.

The survey revealed that insecurity ranked as the most significant constraint facing firms, scoring 72.9 points on the index of business challenges. This was followed by high and multiple taxes at 70.3 points, high interest rates at 67.7 points, an unfavourable political climate at 64.2 points, and high bank charges at 64.1 points.

According to the survey, risks and cost pressures remain dominant concerns for firms across the agriculture, industry and services sectors.

Other notable constraints identified by respondents include energy-related challenges, financial difficulties and poor infrastructure. Although financial problems and inadequate infrastructure ranked lower among the top ten challenges, with scores of 59.7 and 58.2 points respectively, they continue to pose significant hurdles to business operations and expansion.

Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr. Muda Yusuf, acknowledged that the administration had made progress in addressing long-standing distortions in the economy but stressed that the social consequences of the reforms had been severe.

According to Yusuf, the reforms have contributed to improvements in some macroeconomic indicators, including foreign exchange market liquidity, fiscal sustainability, government revenue, and investor confidence.

He said: “The reforms have helped to improve macroeconomic fundamentals and have corrected some structural distortions that had persisted for years. There is better fiscal sustainability, improved foreign exchange liquidity, and increased investor confidence in the economy.”

Nevertheless, Yusuf maintained that many Nigerians were yet to experience the benefits of these gains.

The social outcomes of the reforms have been very devastating. The cost of living has risen significantly, inflation has eroded purchasing power, and businesses have had to contend with unprecedented increases in operating costs,” he said.

Since the removal of petrol subsidies and the liberalisation of the foreign exchange market in 2023, manufacturers, traders, and service providers have faced sharp increases in energy, transportation, and input costs.

The manufacturing sector, in particular, has struggled with the impact of higher production costs driven by exchange-rate volatility, elevated interest rates, rising electricity tariffs, and persistent infrastructure challenges.

Industry stakeholders say many firms have been forced to scale down operations, defer expansion plans, or pass increased costs to consumers in order to remain afloat.

Although recent improvements in foreign exchange availability and exchange-rate stability have provided some relief, operators insist that significant challenges remain.

Yusuf noted that while macroeconomic stability is essential for long-term growth, the government must focus on translating these gains into improved welfare outcomes for citizens and a more competitive business environment.

“The next phase should be about deepening the macroeconomic gains and ensuring that businesses can operate more efficiently. There is a need to address structural constraints such as power supply, logistics bottlenecks, high interest rates, and the rising cost of doing business,” he said.

He added that sustained improvements in infrastructure, energy security, and access to affordable finance would be critical to unlocking the growth potential of the productive sectors.

The divergence between government optimism and public sentiment reflects the difficult transition period accompanying major economic reforms.

While many business operators agree that the reforms were necessary to avert a deeper fiscal crisis, they argue that the pace of implementation and limited social safety nets have amplified the burden on households and businesses.

As the administration enters the second half of its term, stakeholders say the success of the reforms will ultimately be measured not only by improvements in fiscal and macroeconomic indicators but also by their impact on jobs, incomes, industrial productivity, and the overall quality of life of Nigerians.

For many households and businesses, the challenge remains whether the promised benefits of stability will soon be felt beyond economic statistics and reflected in everyday living conditions.