Dele Oye: Huge FX Reserves, 4.43% Growth Must Lead to Lower Food Prices, Jobs

Dele Oye, Chairman of the Alliance for Economic Research and Ethics, has praised the Bola Tinubu administration for improving Nigeria's macroeconomic stability and resilience. However, Oye argues that the government must now focus on translating these gains into tangible benefits for ordinary Nigerians, such as lower food prices, increased job opportunities, and improved living standards.

In a statement titled "The Economy Is Stabilising. Now Let the People Feel It," Oye commends the administration for politically challenging decisions like removing the petrol subsidy, implementing foreign exchange reforms, abandoning the monetization of fiscal deficits, rebuilding external reserves, and tightening monetary policy.

These measures have helped address underlying weaknesses in the Nigerian economy, according to Oye. He points to the country's foreign exchange reserves, which reached a 17-year high of $53.11 billion as of August 24, 2026, and the National Bureau of Statistics' report showing a 4.43% year-on-year growth in the economy during the second quarter of 2026.

Despite these positive indicators, Oye cautions that stronger reserves and rising GDP figures alone will not automatically result in improved welfare for the population. He cites the IMF's June 2026 poverty estimate of 63% at the national poverty line and 27 million Nigerians facing food insecurity. Oye emphasizes that while the Tinubu administration deserves credit for taking difficult decisions, the administration now needs to convert stabilization into lived security.

He urges the government to ensure that the economy is not only investable and credible to markets but also useful and humane to families.