Condition Of Poor Nigerians Has Improved Under Tinubu – Economic Adviser

Amidts the serious economic challenges in the country a top aide of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared that the lives of poor people in the country has improved under the current administration.

Tope Fasua, the Special Adviser on Economic Affairs, to the president made the assertion on Sunday, saying the development followed the decision of President Tinubu to free up more resources for the Local Government Councils, LGAs in the country.

The President’s aide spoke on Channel TV programme Sunday Politics, insisting that there are now enough resources available to the governors to spend in developing the grassroots, stating that the decision to release more funds for LGAs in the country is one of the most effective policies of the Tinubu’s administration.

He stated that the administration understood that the best place to tackle poverty is at the local government level, that’s is why more funds have been allocated to LGAs, saying the governors now have enough resources at their disposals, which enables them to pay workers salary and pensioners, unlike in the time past when workers were owed many months of salaries by state governments.

He said the era “when civil servants would be owed 18 months, 12 months, six months, it’s gone,” because enough funds have been provide for the state governments.

“Pensioners are getting their money a lot, and I think that’s where it matters. And of course, opposition will think that it’s a government that actually pushes finances to the state and the local government, okay, that ensures that salaries are paid on time and the most vulnerable part of our population actually gets something. So I’m saying that, look, I can tell you, I can tell you that, honestly, for the very poor people in this country, the situation is getting better and perhaps better than it used to be, honestly, “ he said.

Adding, “Because if you are raising money to local government and to state government, that is where it’s at. But actually, we cannot go and give the local man—let me tell you, the lessons learned from the China Poverty Eradication Programme, what they did was to get documentation on every household. So if you really want to solve the poverty problem, you are talking about getting documentation on each household.

“The federal government knows that you cannot do that; you can only do that through the local government, through the state government. And so these monies that have been pushed to them are what are going to win the election for us. I have no doubt that Bola Ahmed Tinubu is coming back in 2027 anyway.”

Not a few Nigerians will however disagree with Fasua on the grounds that republe  local and international bodies such as the International Monetary Fund, IMF, World Bank, and others have insisted that the poverty level in the country has worsened since Tinubu came into office in 2023.

On the point by Fasua that the grassroots now feel more government impact due to the financial autonomy granted to LGAs in the country, the situation on the ground, according to policy experts, is very different because some state governments in the country have ensured that funds allocated to the LGAs don’t get to them despite the historic 2025 Supreme Court judgment that funds meant for the 776 LGAs in the country must be paid to them directly.

Meanwhile, the controversial comment by Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu to the effect that poor Nigerians can make their life better by selling local edible stuffs such as Akara, and Kuli-kuli is still raising ducts in the country.