We’re not afraid of Trump, Nigeria’s revenue doing well – Tinubu

We’re not afraid of Trump, Nigeria’s revenue doing well – Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu says Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff blitz has no bearing on Nigeria, stating that the country has bolstered its revenue to be immune to “whatever Trump is doing”.

Speaking at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday, Mr Tinubu lavished praise on himself and his administration, claiming that the nation had already met its annual revenue target in August and was therefore unaffected by Washington’s tariffs, which had rattled trade and the global supply chain.

The Nigerian leader stated that the non-oil sector alone was responsible for generating the annual revenue target ahead of schedule.

The U.S. slapped a 15 per cent tariff on all Nigerian products earlier this year, but Mr Tinubu insisted the nation’s economy was thriving, implying that the gains offset whatever economic damage that might be triggered by Mr Trump’s policy.

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“Today, I’m standing before you. I can brag that Nigeria is not borrowing a dime from a local bank,” Mr Tinubu said on Tuesday. “We have met our revenue target for the whole year; we met it in August, non-oil. If the non-oil revenue is doing well, then we have no fear of whatever Trump is doing.”

Still, a rebased GDP report by the National Bureau of Statistics last month pointed to the contrary after it stated that the economy shrank drastically under Mr Tinubu in  2024 due to the steep naira depreciation

The report further stated that the economy was only doing well on paper and in naira, and that it had sunk to dire straits if measured in U.S. dollars.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Tuggar said the U.S. had pressured Nigeria and other African nations to accept Venezuelan prisoners, an offer Nigeria rejected. But the U.S. has rebuffed remarks linking the reduction in visa validity to Nigeria’s refusal to accommodate Venezuelan convicts.

We’re not afraid of Trump, Nigeria’s revenue doing well – Tinubu