President Bola Tinubu’s first year in office, though marked with mixed results, brings a glimmer of hope than that of his predecessor, a report by Analysts’ Data Services & Resources shows.
According to the report which compares Tinubu’s one year in office to other presidents since 1999, it revealed that the performance of Nigerian presidents have been on a decline with President Muhammadu Buhari ranked lowest.
“Generally, it is observed that the first-year performance ranking of Nigerian Presidents have been on the decline. It fell from the highest level under Obasanjo (72.8%) to the lowest under Buhari (48.8%),” the report said.
“However, a turning point is being observed under the Tinubu administration, raising overall first-year performance to 53.6%,” it added.
In arriving at the scorecard, ADSR adopted five indicators under each of five segments of the economy, making 25. These segments include: Output and Prices, Financial Statistics, International Finance, Public Finance, and Governance and Institutions.
The report stated that the strong segment for the Tinubu’s administration is documented to be Public Finance at 64%, and the weak segment is Output and Prices which stood at 40%.
ADSR noted that though President Tinubu’s one year performance remains low relative to President Obasanjo’s, Yaradua’s and Jonathan’s, “it will be good to sustain this turning point”.
The past one year of Tinubu’s government has been one like never before as he made bold market reforms other past governments had dreaded.
He removed the popular but costly petrol subsidy just on the day of his inauguration and floated the naira in June, paving way for a liberalisation of the foreign exchange.
These two major market reforms have shaken the country’s economy and brewed a cost of living crisis.
The country’s headline inflation has risen to an over 28-year high while food inflation has accelerated to the highest level ever recorded in the country.
Though the government has begun certain welfare stimulus packages to the citizens in order to ease the pains of these policies, they seem not enough to shake off the economic headwinds fanning embers of hunger and poverty.
ADSR recommended however that the government should engage the private sector in the provision of necessary infrastructure to free public resources.
Similarly, it should leverage local expertise and seek the support of experienced hands. And build trust with workers by prioritizing their welfare and engaging in discussions to increase wages and productivity.
It further recommended that the “coordinating minister to be more visible; make the process of policy formulation and implementation more objective, transparent and evidence-based; see fuel subsidy and exchange rate misalignment as symptoms of a bigger productivity problem to be solved over the medium to long term”.
Additionally, it advised the government to “develop a coherent economic plan by harmonising the National Development Plan, Nigeria Agenda 2050, 8-Points Agenda, and the report of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee; effectively raise and mobilise domestic resources; avoid policy flip flops such as the announcement and suspension of cash palliatives, expatriate employment levy, cybersecurity levy, governing councils of federal tertiary institutions; ensure effective macroeconomic policy coordination without hampering the
independence of the CBN”.
ADSR also advised Tinubu to improve the way economic policies, outcomes and expectations are communicated and constantly keep the citizens informed about the costs and benefits of current reforms.
“Let people know that the government is cooking, and there should be enough to go round; avoid overpromising and work to deliver on what is promised to build trust; beyond official communication, note that citizens will form their opinions and behaviour based on what they see leaders do,” it said.