President Bola Tinubu has declared that Nigeria is unfazed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and trade policies.
Tinubu speaking for the first time on Trump’s tariffs on Nigerian exports, maintained that the country’s economy is in good shape.
Speaking during a solidarity visit by The Buhari Organisation led by former Nasarawa State Governor Senator Tanko Almakura at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on September 2, 2025, Tinubu highlighted Nigeria’s growing non-oil revenues and agricultural reforms as key buffers against the impact of Trump’s tariffs and trade policies.
Recall that Trump recently imposed a 15% tariff on Nigerian exports, effective August 7, 2025, following an initial 14% rate announced in April.
He said: “Today, I can stand here before you to brag — Nigeria is not borrowing. We have met our revenue target for the year and we met it in August. Let Trump do his worst, we are stable.
“If non-oil revenue is going well, then we have no fear of whatever Trump is doing on the other side.”
According to him, when he took over, the exchange rate had ballooned to N1,900 to the US dollar. But thanks to reforms and fiscal discipline, the rate has stabilised around N1,450, without the need for elite-level backchannel connections to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“Nobody is trading pieces of paper for the exchange rate anymore. You don’t have to know a CBN governor to get forex. All you have to do is export, import, and create jobs for the people,” he said.
Tinubu noted that his administration was focused on “fixing the economy” and “bringing hope to the people,” describing agriculture as the backbone of Nigeria’s long-term food security plan.
He revealed that he had just signed off on a major agricultural mechanisation programme that will be deployed in every region, complete with training centres and support infrastructure.
“We are doing mechanisation and training — that is our backbone: food sovereignty, food security. If we remove hunger, we have defeated poverty,” he added.
