IMPI: Bola Tinubu’s Economic Progressivism Sparks Historic Turnaround, Breaks Oligarchic Grip On Nigeria

The Independent Media and Policy Initiatives (IMPI) has declared that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has engineered a decisive turnaround in Nigeria’s economy through the strategic deployment of economic progressivism.

In a detailed policy statement signed by its Chairman, Dr. Omoniyi Akinsiju, the group described the administration’s reforms as a bold and necessary break from decades of fiscal recklessness and entrenched elite dominance.
IMPI argued that prior to the reforms launched in May 2023, Nigeria’s economy was firmly in the grip of a deeply rooted oligarchy made up of political elites, military figures and influential business interests who controlled state resources through an entrenched patronage system particularly within the oil sector.

According to the statement, the pre-reform era was marked by systemic distortions. The fuel subsidy regime, it noted, functioned as a “feeding bottle” for a privileged few and was riddled with corruption. Multiple foreign exchange windows created opportunities for “FX subsidy merchants” to exploit disparities between official and parallel market rates, draining public finances. Economic power was heavily concentrated around petroleum revenues, controlled largely by those in positions of influence.

By the time President Tinubu assumed office, IMPI said Nigeria was spending approximately 97 percent of its total revenue on debt servicing — a fiscal position it described as disastrous.
The group also pointed to structural weaknesses that predated the current administration, noting that Nigeria’s export earnings had significantly declined after peaking at $93.89 billion in crude oil and gas exports in 2011, with subsequent years failing to return to that high-water mark.

However, IMPI asserted that the Tinubu administration has now “taken Nigeria out of the woods,” citing growing fiscal stability and the dismantling of oligarchic strongholds as evidence of a sustainable turnaround.

The policy think tank identified several pillars of what it termed ideology-driven economic reform. These include fiscal restructuring and tax reforms, redistributive spending, estate and wealth taxation, labour and wealth protection policies, monetary and financial reforms, infrastructure development, and expanded public investment.

Highlighting tangible outcomes, IMPI reported a significant surge in allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC). In the first eleven months of 2025, the three tiers of government shared over N33.27 trillion — a 30 percent increase compared to the same period in 2024. September 2025 alone recorded a historic N3.64 trillion distribution, driven largely by subsidy removal and exchange rate unification.
On inflation, the group noted a sustained downward trend. From a peak of 34.6 percent in November 2024, headline inflation fell to 15.10 percent by January 2026, marking over nine consecutive months of disinflation and a gradual restoration of purchasing power.
Food inflation, it added, dropped sharply to 8.89 percent year-on-year in January 2026, its first single-digit reading in more than a decade and the lowest level since August 2011. The decline from 29.63 percent in January 2025 to 8.89 percent a year later represents a dramatic 20.73 percentage-point reduction.
IMPI further observed that the gap between official and parallel foreign exchange rates has narrowed significantly, shrinking from about 60 percent to just 2 percent. As of February 24, 2026, the naira traded at approximately N1,349.24 to the US dollar in the official market and between N1,355 and N1,420 in the parallel market.

The group also noted that the naira is currently ranked as the world’s second-best performing currency this year, recording a gain of over seven percent against the dollar.

Concluding its assessment, IMPI maintained that the administration’s reform agenda has not only stabilized the economy but also dismantled entrenched systems of privilege, positioning Nigeria on a new path of fiscal discipline, transparency, and inclusive growth.