President Bola Tinubu has said Nigeria’s economy is recording steady progress, insisting that the reforms introduced by his administration over the past three years are beginning to produce positive results despite the challenges they have created.
The President made the remarks on Wednesday while receiving a delegation from Deloitte Africa, led by its Chief Executive Officer for Africa, Ruwayda Redfearn, at the State House in Abuja.
Also present at the meeting were the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, and the Chairman of the Nigerian Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji.
According to a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu defended the reforms, describing them as necessary steps toward building a stronger economy.
“Yes, reforms are difficult. It has not been a McDonald’s customer relationship but a harvester of good things, if implemented well, and that is what we are about.
“The reforms on revenue will continue to stimulate growth. And the effect of the reform? Yes, some issues are difficult, taking the bitter medicine, but it is working well.
“For the economy, Nigeria is making serious foundational progress,” the President said.
Tinubu noted that the reforms had strengthened the country’s fiscal and revenue systems, improved financial institutions and positioned Nigeria to become more competitive on the global stage.
Reflecting on his professional background, the President recalled his early years in accountancy and his connection to the Deloitte network.
“The family of Deloitte, you just reminded me of my cradle years in accountancy and where I cut my childhood accounting teeth in Chicago.
“Deloitte has a good training programme, and I believe you will continue to reflect that,” he said.
Tinubu also urged the firm to expand its investment in Nigeria by creating more opportunities for young people through training and employment, stressing that developing the country’s youthful population would contribute to long-term economic growth.
In her remarks, Deloitte Africa CEO Ruwayda Redfearn praised the administration’s financial and fiscal reforms and expressed the firm’s readiness to support the government’s economic agenda.
“We are before you to say that we want to serve. We have a local team on the ground that is ready, as well as the global firm, to support you and support your administration as you lead the country,” she said.
Redfearn disclosed that Deloitte employs more than 500,000 people globally, including over 6,000 across Africa, and generated $74 billion in revenue in 2025.
The Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte West Africa, Yomi Olugbenro, said the firm believed the government’s reforms had created a solid foundation, but stressed that greater attention should now be placed on ensuring ordinary Nigerians benefit from the changes.
“We do what we do because of the philosophy that our Africa CEOs talk about, making an impact that matters.
“Where we are at the moment, we believe that the ground has been solidly laid. There is a need to truly extract more value and deliver the dividends of democracy to ordinary Nigerians on the street.
“The bigger work is really about how to cascade some of those big reforms further down,” he said.
Olugbenro added that Deloitte would leverage its experience in supporting economic reforms in other countries to assist Nigeria.
“We have use cases, examples, experiences of how we supported nations all around the world, so Nigeria will definitely benefit from those experiences.
“That is why we are here, and we welcome the invitation as to where exactly you want us to support you,” he said.
Speaking at the meeting, Taiwo Oyedele highlighted the impact of the administration’s economic reforms and encouraged Deloitte to invest more in developing the skills of young Nigerians, describing it as one of the most valuable contributions the firm could make to the country’s future.