In his address at the 54th annual accountants conference, President Bola Tinubu made some claims about the state of Nigeria’s economy and other fiscal matters.
On behalf of President Tinubu, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu delivered the opening address at the conference themed “Governance Reimagined: Mapping the Future.”
Ripples Nigeria subjects the address to scrutiny as presidential addresses have been faulted for inaccuracies in recent times.
Claim 1: “It is encouraging that the GDP growth for the first and second quarter of 2024 was positive while inflation turned downwards.”
Verification: Per data by the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 2.98% and 3.19% (year-on-year) in real terms in the first and second quarter of 2024, respectively.
The NBS noted that the growth rate is higher than the 2.31% and 2.51% recorded in Q1 and Q2 of 2023.
However, inflationary figure has been steeped since the beginning of the year, though it recently slowed.
Per NBS data, headline inflation capped at 29.90% in January, an increase of 0.98% when compared to 28.92% in December, 2023.
In February 2024, inflation rate increased further to 31.70% and in March, it rose to 33.20%.
The trend continued in April, May and June, with the inflation rate increasing to 33.69%, 33.95% and 34.19%, respectively.
However, in July, the headline inflation rate eased to 33.40% and downward in August to 32.15%. The inflation report for August was released on September 16, meaning that the previous month report is yet to be out.
Verdict: Both claims are True.
Claim 2: “… the three tiers of government are receiving higher allocations, which enable more support to vulnerable populations.”
Verification: The Federation Accounts Allocation Committee shared the total sum of N12.45 trillion, in the first six months of 2024, among the federal government, the 36 states and the 774 local governments in Nigeria.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the three tiers of government shared N1.67 trillion in January, 2024. In February and March, the federal government and the sub-national governments shared N2.07 trillion and N2.33 trillion respectively.
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Also in April, the total amount shared was N1.87 trillion; N2.19 trillion in May; N2.32 trillion in June; and 2.68 trillion in July.
In short, the sum of N3.473 trillion has been allocated to the three tiers of government in the Q2 of 2024, reflecting an increase of N46.77bn (1.42 per cent) compared to the Q1 of 2024.
Verdict: Mostly true.
The address. Source: Presidency X page
Claim 3: “Social investment spending is increasing, the minimum wage has increased, student loans are available …”.
Verification: For the fiscal year 2024, President Tinubu presented an estimated budget of N27.5 trillion, with an allocation of N534 billion (2% of Budget) provisioned for Social Investments/Poverty Reduction Programmes.
The last budget under the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari allocated the sum of N200 billion in social investment programme.
Following relentless bargain for higher pay by the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, President Tinubu on July 18, 2024, approved a new minimum wage of N70,000 for Nigerian workers and pledged to review the national minimum wage law every three years.
However, it was not until September 16 that the government announced that workers should expect to receive notifications regarding their updated minimum wage salary payments.
According to a report in August, more than 20 states are yet to set up panels to review the minimum wage.
Yes, student loans are available: The Nigeria Education Loan Fund recently disclosed that it has disbursed N84.2bn to applicants as of September 2024.
According to NELFUND, the loan has been disbursed to 40 additional Nigerian institutions, with five located in the Eastern region, bringing the total number of beneficiary institutions to 59.
Verdict: Mostly true.
Conclusion
Ripples Nigeria fact-check reveals that the claims by President Tinubu were mostly true.
By: Quadri Yahya
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