President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Economic Affairs, Dr Tope Fasua, has responded to the public debate surrounding the value of the naira and the rising cost of living, offering clarification on comments he made earlier about poverty and food affordability in Nigeria.
Tribune Online reports that Fasua, while speaking during an appearance on the Mic On Podcast hosted by Seun Okinbaloye, stated that even at an exchange rate of over N1,500 to $1, the naira retains real purchasing power for many Nigerians.
The statement, however, has continued to generate varied reactions from Nigerians, with many criticising his stance on the naira’s value.
Clarifying his statement in a recent interview on Arise TV on Tuesday, Fasua defended the purchasing power of the naira within Nigeria, arguing that despite the local currency’s depreciation against the dollar, it can still buy meals in parts of the country.
He maintained that his statement was being misunderstood and taken out of context.
“As against those that have been misquoting and sensationalizing, nobody is saying that there’s no poverty in Nigeria. In fact, luckily for me, I got people sending videos from Lagos to Maiduguri, saying that they actually ate for N1,500 yesterday,” he said.
Fasua explained that even individuals earning the minimum wage are often forced to make difficult decisions based on available resources. “If you’re earning minimum wage and you’re struggling in life, you know, you have to make choices like that,” he added.
Citing a personal example, the presidential aide recalled visiting a restaurant in Lekki where he observed that a meal could still be purchased for N2,500. “I was somewhere in Lekki yesterday, precisely Black Bell. I saw that someone could eat for N2,500. N2,500, even in Lekki Face 1. I mean, I didn’t know where to go. Someone just took me there because I had another interview,” he recounted.
Addressing criticism that his remarks were dismissive of the country’s economic realities, Fasua insisted his intention was not to downplay poverty but to draw attention to its depth.
“So, yes, people can’t afford that, I agree. But I think that empirically speaking, my statement was correct. I said something, I said 1,500 is a lot of money to a lot of Nigerians,” he stated.
He explained that many Nigerians are living in conditions where even a modest sum like N1,500 can make a significant difference.
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“And that’s because I acknowledge the fact that a lot of people are down on their luck and poor. So, saying N1,500 is a lot of money is not a mockery of those who see that as a lot,” he said.
“If you are leaving this place now and you gave the security guy 1,000, he will appreciate you. He will have a meal on that. I’m saying that a lot of Nigerians are in that category,” Fasua added.
Highlighting the issue of widening inequality in the country, Fasua called on both the government and private sector to recognise and act on the growing economic disparity. He also linked the current hardship to the lingering economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“My reason for shooting on this is to say, that the private sector and even the government sector must be put under pressure to understand that this inequality is increasing as against what it was before,” he said.
“But we can’t rest on our oars. We know there’s a problem already because post-COVID and, you know, when something as cataclysmic as COVID happens, sometimes it takes 10, 20 years for you to come back to,” Fasua explained.
“We’re hoping that President Trump’s experimental governance this time around will not set us back even further,” he said.
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