Tinubu: Without My Decisions, We Would Carry Naira in Wheelbarrow

President Bola Tinubu has said Nigeria would have needed a wheelbarrow to carry the naira if he had not made some decisions when he took office in 2023. He spoke in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, during a campaign rally for the presidency.

Tinubu said the naira would have lost all its value and Nigerians would have needed a wheelbarrow to carry the country’s money if not for his decisions. The president made the remark while campaigning, linking his economic record to the survival of the currency.

Wheelbarrow warning

Tinubu said: “By now, if we didn’t make a decision the day I took over, we would have had to use a wheelbarrow to carry our naira because it would have been worth nothing.”

The comment was aimed at the economic choices his administration made after he took power in 2023. Tinubu did not give a detailed list of those decisions in the speech, but he presented them as necessary to prevent a total collapse of the naira’s value.

2027 election

He also said the presidential election on January 16, 2027, is a consequential one that will determine where Nigeria is heading. Tinubu said: “The election coming up on January 16, 2027, is a very important one that will set the course for our country.”

The president used the Uyo rally to connect the 2027 ballot to the country’s direction. He told the gathering that the coming election would set the course for Nigeria.

Governors and salaries

Tinubu said that when he took charge, 27 governors out of 36 states in the country were unable to pay their salary obligations, let alone pensions and gratuity. He cited that situation as part of the economic pressure his administration inherited in 2023.

The remarks put the naira and the cost of governance at the centre of the political argument ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Tinubu’s campaign message is that his decisions in 2023 prevented a worse currency outcome, and he wants voters to judge him on that claim.