By Adeyinka Adeniran
A Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Tunde Lemo, has said Nigeria’s economy would have gone bankrupcy, save for the painful economic reforms inteoduced by President Bola Tinubu.
Noting that the country is gradually stabilising, he declared that it is obvious for all to see that the country is now “seeing light at the end of the tunnel” after a difficult reform year.
Speaking on “Frontline”, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese Ijebu, monitored on Thursday, the veteran banker described the Nigerian economy as resilient, pointing to declining inflation figures, improved exchange rate stability, and easing food pressures toward the end of 2025.
He said, “We thank God because we are beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel. The economy is resilient.”
Lemo, acknowledging that though prices remain high, inflation has been trending downward, with both headline and food inflation consistently easing.
According to him, December 2025 marked a turning point as Nigerians no longer had to queue for food, a development he attributed to the removal of fuel subsidy.
“For the first time in December, we didn’t need to queue up for food. Those who bought right will tell you prices were about 20 percent cheaper than the previous year,” he said.
Maintaining that the economic reforms introduced at President Tinubu’s inauguration are already yielding dividends, despite the initial shocks, Lemo stressed that, “so you can see that the reform that Mr. President started with on his day of inauguration, we are already reaping the benefits.
“Yes, subsidy has been taken away, there were price spikes when that happened, but that has brought in sufficient product for us, so much so now that we don’t have to be running helter skelter and looking for wealth. And then of course, prices are trending downwards.”
While defending the new tax regime, and dismissing claims by many Nigerians that the timing is wrong, Lemo said, “When will it be the right time to pay tax? It is only in Nigeria that people do not want to pay tax but want government to provide everything.”
He argued that taxation is essential to governance and warned against excessive borrowing or central bank financing, which fuels inflation. “Government largely spends tax money in other climes. If we don’t pay tax, where do we expect funding to come from?” he asked.
Lemo added that traders with annual turnover below N100 million are fully exempt from paying tax”. Would a woman selling pepper by the roadside make N100 million a year? The new tax law protects the poor more than the rich. The elites are the most vocal in this criticism. The poor don’t even have access to these conversations. The elites are using them as mouthpieces,” he stressed.
