- TUC President Festus Osifo descended on President Tinubu's optimistic New Year speech, calling it out of sync with Nigeria’s current economic reality
- Osifo pointed to government policies as major contributors to Nigeria's economic struggles, highlighting inflation and exchange rate issues
- Despite ambitious plans, Osifo questioned the feasibility of Tinubu's economic projections, including inflation reduction and oil production increases
Festus Osifo, President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), has expressed concern that the optimism conveyed in President Bola Tinubu’s New Year speech does not align with the current state of Nigeria's economy.
Appearing on Channels Television's Politics Today programme on Wednesday, January 1, evening, Osifo was critical of the President’s optimistic outlook, particularly the promises made to combat inflation, stabilise the naira, and foster economic growth.
In his address, President Tinubu outlined ambitious plans for the nation’s economic recovery, including strategies to boost local food production, increase the manufacturing of essential medicines, and improve access to credit through the establishment of the National Credit Guarantee Company.
However, Osifo argued that while the President’s speech may be intended to inspire hope, it fails to reflect the harsh realities of the nation’s economic challenges.
He stated, "The president of a country is the chief salesman of a country, his own primary responsibility is to lay out the message that he has laid out. To paint a very bright picture, to paint a picture of a lot of goodies that could come in 2025. So he has done what any president in the world could do."
Despite acknowledging the President's intention to inspire hope, Osifo suggested that the message of optimism clashes with the struggles Nigerians currently face.
He continued, "So in reality, what the president has said is trying to inspire hope, but that hope that he’s trying to inspire, is not really in tandem with what we have currently in our economy."
The TUC President also pointed out that both economic analysts and financial experts have identified the administration’s policies as key contributors to the nation’s economic difficulties.
According to Osifo, these policies have significantly worsened the situation, citing the depreciation of the naira and rising inflation as direct results of the current government’s actions.
He added, "Nigerians know clearly that a lot of these policies have brought about challenges, and have brought about difficulties that we are facing today. Today our exchange rate is about 1,600, depending on the parallel market or The Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Fixing. It is also these policies that have also brought about the inflation that we have today."
Osifo also criticised the optimistic projections outlined by the President, such as the expected reduction in inflation to 15% by 2025 and a rise in crude oil production to 2.06 million barrels per day.
He questioned the feasibility of these targets, stating, "When you now analyse them, what are the parameters that have been put in place? What are those details that have been put in place that we can see that truly it is not just talkism, that truly what the president is saying, there are actions to match them?"
New Year Message: Tinubu pledges to boost food production, reduce inflation to 15% in 2025
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu assured of his administration’s commitment to boosting food production and reducing inflation from the current 34.60 per cent to 15 per cent in 2025.
Tinubu stated this in his New Year message to Nigerians on January 1, reassuring that the government’s policies aim to bring relief to the citizens.
