Publisher and politician Dele Momodu has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies, arguing that the country’s economic challenges have worsened since the administration assumed office.
Momodu made the remarks in a statement reacting to Tinubu’s Independence Day address on October 1, 2026, in which the president used a cancer analogy to describe the condition of Nigeria’s economy before his administration came to power.
Tinubu had described the country as having been sustained by what he likened to painkillers under previous administrations, saying his government chose to confront the underlying problems through difficult reforms.
Responding to the address, Momodu said Nigeria was already facing serious economic problems when Tinubu assumed office but argued that the administration had worsened the situation.
“At the time you assumed power, Nigeria probably had stage two cancer, at the worst. You were expected to stabilise it and not to metastasise it into a stage four cancer,” Momodu said.
He also criticised the removal of the petrol subsidy, describing the policy as a major error that, in his view, deepened economic hardship.
Momodu said the policy was implemented without sufficient preparation and claimed it had pushed the country into what he described as an “instant coma.”
His comments were part of a broader response to Tinubu’s Independence Day speech, in which the president defended his administration’s economic reforms and argued that the measures were necessary to address longstanding structural problems.
Momodu, a former presidential aspirant and a senior figure in the African Democratic Congress campaign, has been critical of the Tinubu administration as the country moves towards the 2027 general election.
The exchange comes amid continuing debate over the effects of the government’s economic reforms, particularly fuel subsidy removal, foreign exchange reforms and measures aimed at stabilising the economy.
