President Tinubu Tells Deloitte Africa That Nigeria’s Economy Is On A Steady Growth Path

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has defended his administration’s bold economic policies, declaring that Nigeria’s economy is finally on a steady path to recovery and growth.

Speaking at the State House in Abuja on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, during a high-profile meeting with a delegation from Deloitte Africa, the President acknowledged the public pain caused by his policies but maintained that the “bitter medicine” was necessary to rescue the country’s finances.

“Not a McDonald’s Relationship, But a Harvester of Good Things”

In true charismatic fashion, President Tinubu used a fast-food analogy to explain the long-term vision behind his administration’s intense fiscal and tax structural reforms:

“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… Yes, some issues are difficult; taking the bitter medicine is never easy, but it is working well. Nigeria is making serious foundational progress.” — President Bola Tinubu

According to the President, the economic reforms implemented over the past three years have:

• Stabilised public finances and improved national revenue generation.
• Repositioned financial institutions to be more stable and secure.
• Boosted Nigeria’s competitiveness in the global market.

The meeting was also attended by key members of the administration’s economic team, including the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, and the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji.

Deloitte Pledges Strong Support for Nigeria

The delegation from Deloitte Africa, led by Group Chief Executive Officer Ruwayda Redfearn, highly commended the President’s courage in driving financial and fiscal reforms.

Redfearn revealed that the global professional services giant—which pulled in a staggering $74 billion in revenue in 2025 and employs over 6,000 experts across Africa—is fully prepared to deploy its resources to assist the administration with digital and business transformation.

“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.” — Ruwayda Redfearn, Deloitte Africa CEO

Adding to this, Deloitte West Africa CEO Yomi Olugbenro pointed out that the foundational work has already been done. The next step, according to him, is ensuring those reforms start trickling down directly to everyday Nigerians:

“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.” — Yomi Olugbenro, West Africa CEO

Back to the Cradle

The meeting took a nostalgic turn when President Tinubu recalled his early professional years in the accounting industry, jokingly noting that the visit reminded him of his “cradle years in accountancy” in Chicago where he first cut his teeth.

Lauding Deloitte’s stellar reputation for training exceptional minds, the President and Minister Taiwo Oyedele strongly urged the firm to expand its local talent recruitment and skills development pipelines to help empower Nigeria’s massive youth population.

Do you agree with President Tinubu that the economic “bitter medicine” is finally starting to work? Drop your thoughts in the comment section below!