‘Thirty-three governors cannot be wrong,’ Onanuga says of Tinubu’s support

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has defended the President’s economic record, citing the support of 33 governors and claiming that food prices have dropped and foreign investors are returning to Nigeria.

Onanuga made the remarks in a post on Friday while reacting to a clip shared by Arise TV on X featuring Obafemi George, a member of the Media and Strategic Communications Committee of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council.

He criticised television anchors for questioning Nigeria’s economic progress under Tinubu, accusing them of promoting the opposition’s narrative that nothing had improved since the President assumed office in 2023.

“TV anchors keep pushing the opposition’s narrative that nothing has changed, positively, indeed, massively, since 2023. Their position has become so ridiculous that they keep parroting the old narrative, and now they question the NBS data on receding inflation. I will advise them to revisit the markets,” he wrote.

The presidential aide claimed that the price of a bag of rice had fallen from about N120,000 to below N50,000, adding that it sold for N45,000 in his hometown.

Onanuga also cited Nigeria’s foreign reserves, access to foreign exchange for businesses and the ability of Nigerians to use naira cards abroad as signs of economic progress under Tinubu.

He said the country’s foreign reserves were approaching $60bn and argued that businesses could now obtain foreign exchange to import raw materials and equipment.

The presidential aide further disputed claims that returning investors were mainly portfolio investors, saying foreign direct investment was bringing capital into the economy and creating jobs.

“These facts are clear to anyone not blinded by partisanship and hatred for the leader who has laid a solid foundation for the economy and is poised to take the nation to a higher level of shared prosperity,” he added.