Tinubu raised Trump’s tariff, said Nigeria’s economy was strong enough to withstand pressure

The President of the Tinubu Bola has stated that Nigeria will remain tough even though the new trade tariff was introduced by US President Donald Trump, emphasizing that his government had built an economic buffer that was sufficient to withstand external shocks.

Tinubu made a comment on Tuesday when he received a member of the Buhari organization, led by the former Governor of Nasarawa Senator Tanko Al-Makura, who paid for the visit of solidarity at the President’s villa in Abuja.

The President highlighted progress in diversifying Nigerian revenue bases far from oil, which he said had paid off. “If non-miny income grows, then we are not afraid that Trump is doing on the other side,” said Tinubu.

He pointed to a better Nigerian fiscal position, noting that the country had exceeded the 2025 revenue target in August, while Naira had been stable after the unification of the exchange rate in 2023. According to him, the currency was valued around N1,450 per dollar, compared to N1,900 on the initial days of his gift.

Trump’s second term of office has been marked by sweeping trade reforms, including a 10 percent base line tariff on almost all imports, as well as special countries additional countries range from 11 to 50 percent. Nigeria, among several sub-Sahara African countries, was beaten at a rate of 14 percent in April, then adjusted to 15 percent in August. Energy exports, including oil and gas, are excluded, but the global energy market continues to face disturbances in early 2025.

Tinubu also used the opportunity to underline the government’s agricultural reform, citing a large -scale mechanization as a foundation for his food security strategy. “If we eliminate hunger, we have defeated poverty,” he said, insisting that agriculture remains the center of Nigerian economic recovery.

In a lighter moment, Tinubu recalled the early days of the Congress of all Progressive Congress (APC), expressing the disagreement he had with the late Former President Muhammadu Buhari during the Merger Negotiations in 2013.

“We do not agree to agree … we even argue about symbols. He (Buhari) insisted in parliament, and I insisted on a broom,” Tinubu recalled with laughter, adding, “He is very stubborn.”

The Tuesday meeting united the numbers of the key APC from the north, including the Governor of the State Katsina Dikko Radda and former Governor Aminu Masari. Analysts suggest that the meeting can function as a unity performance in the ruling party ahead of the 2027 elections.

APC was officially registered in February 2013 after the merger of four opposition parties: Nigerian Action Congress, Congress for progressive changes, the party of all Nigerian people, and the factions of all Progressive Alliance Grand Progressive. Tinubu, then the leader of ACN, and Buhari, who led the BPK, often disagreed on political culture and strategies.

Sapu, which was finally adopted as a party logo, symbolizes collective acts of corruption and poor government, and the coalition later defeated the Democratic Party in 2015, delivering Buhari into power.