Tinubu’s reforms benefit only the rich while 130 million Nigerians languish in poverty, Atedo Peterside throws bricks at government policies

By Kingston Magare 3.11.2026
Nigeria’s foremost investment banker Atedo Peterside has hauled bricks at President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, which he claimed failed to put safety nets for Nigerians who are down the ladder of financial stability.
Mr. Peterside who was speaking on Arise TV stated that President Tinubu’s reforms have only benefitted the rich while making I30 million Nigerians poorer.
“If you’re upper middle class and you had investments in the stock exchange, you’re probably better off in the last three years. If you’re a low-income, struggling worker without much savings, I can show you that you’re a lot worse off.
“So what I am saying is that the reforms are making the rich richer and the poor poorer. My concern is for 130 million Nigerians who are getting poorer,” Peterside stated
He added that the level of poverty has risen sharply in the country even as the government’s-initiated poverty alleviating programmes seem inadequate to address the situation.
“What is missing is that the President carried out all these reforms but never put in place adequate safety nets for the very poor. It’s the safety nets that separate the poor and the rich.”
Vast majority of Nigerians have been pushed to the edge following the removal of petrol subsidy and floating of the naira. A development which saw the nation’s currency plunge three times its value to the dollar and wiping out savings and purchasing power of the people.
On the other side of the coin food prices, transportation, housing costs skyrocketed to unprecedent levels with Nigeria recording the largest increase in acute food insecurity globally in 2024, according to the 2025 Global Report on Food Crises, published by the Global Network Against Food Crises.
The International Monetary Fund also reported that poverty and food insecurity remained high under Mr Tinubu, and the World Bank’s Africa Pulse report of April 2025 decried the highest number of extremely poor people in the country, warning that more Nigerians would be plunged into poverty by 2027.