Tinubu said economic reforms took root when Deloitte supported the government’s fiscal agenda

President Bola Tinubu stated that the major economic reforms undertaken by his government were starting to produce long-term results, and emphasized that although these policies created difficulties in the short term, they laid the foundation for sustainable national growth and economic competitiveness.

The President spoke on Wednesday while receiving a delegation from Deloitte Africa, led by the firm’s Chief Executive Officer for Africa, Ruwayda Redfearn, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Based on information from the Special Advisor to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the meeting was also attended by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele and the Executive Chairman of the Nigerian Revenue Service, Dr.

Addressing the delegation, Tinubu defended the economic reforms introduced by his government, admitting that they required sacrifice but stressed that the long-term benefits were already beginning to be seen.

“Yes, reform is difficult. It’s not McDonald’s customer relations, it’s the harvesting of good things, if implemented well, and that’s our goal.

“Revenue reform will continue to stimulate growth. And the impact of this reform? Yes, there are some difficult problems, although it takes bitter medicine, but things are going well.

“From an economic perspective, Nigeria is experiencing serious fundamental progress,” said the President.

Tinubu noted that the reforms had strengthened public finances, increased revenue generation, transformed the position of the country’s financial institutions and improved Nigeria’s prospects in the global economy.

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Reflecting on the start of his professional career, the President also recalled his relationship with the accounting profession, and said that Deloitte played a role in shaping his formative years.

“Deloitte family, you just reminded me of my early years in accounting and where I cut my childhood accounting teeth in Chicago.

“Deloitte has a great training program, and I’m sure you’ll continue to reflect that,” he said.

He further encouraged the multinational professional services company to deepen its engagement in Nigeria by investing more in the country’s youth workforce through training, recruitment and capacity development.

Earlier, Deloitte Africa CEO, Ruwayda Redfearn, praised the Tinubu administration for its ongoing financial and fiscal reforms and pledged the firm’s support to the government’s economic transformation agenda.

He revealed that Deloitte, which generates global revenues of $74 billion by 2025 and employs more than 500,000 people worldwide, including more than 6,000 in Africa, is ready to deploy its local and international expertise to support Nigeria.

“We are before you to say that we want to serve. We have local teams on the ground ready, as well as global companies, to support you and support your government as you lead this country,” he said.

Also speaking, Deloitte West Africa Chief Executive Officer, Yomi Olugbenro, said the government had built a strong foundation through its reform programme, but stressed that the next challenge was to ensure that its benefits were felt by ordinary Nigerians.

“We do what we do because of the philosophy that our CEOs in Africa talk about, which is to make an impact that matters.

“In our current position, we believe that the foundations are solid. There is a need to truly add value and deliver the benefits of democracy to ordinary Nigerians.

“The bigger job is how to carry out major reforms to the lower levels,” he said.

Olugbenro added that Deloitte’s extensive experience in supporting economic reforms in various countries will be invaluable to Nigeria’s ongoing transformation efforts.

“We have cases, examples, experiences of how we support countries around the world, so Nigeria will definitely benefit from those experiences.

“That’s why we’re here, and we welcome invitations where exactly you want us to support you,” he said.

The meeting concluded with renewed commitments from the Federal Government and Deloitte to strengthen collaboration on fiscal reform, revenue mobilization, institutional development and human capital investment, particularly through programs aimed at equipping Nigeria’s youth with globally competitive skills.