A senior economist at the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, Wilson Erumebor, has declared that Nigeria's economy has worsened under President Bola Tinubu's administration compared to former President Muhammadu Buhari's tenure.

Speaking during a recent X space organized by financial analyst Kalu Aja, Erumebor revealed that Nigeria's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has plummeted from approximately $450 billion in 2023 to below $200 billion currently.

"It is economy; you can only have mixed pictures. There are areas with improvement and stagnation," Erumebor stated. "If you go to the Ministry of Finance website, there is a document there. In 2030, Nigeria's economy will be above $8 trillion in terms of size. At that time in 2023, the GDP was estimated at around $450 to $410 billion. So today that same GDP is under $200 billion."

The economist emphasized that this significant decline cannot be considered progress based on the government's own targets. "It is worse off than when the government came in. If you look at the growth rate, it was 7 percent per annum. Recently we are doing 3.4 percent. The IMF outlook projects 3 percent growth," he added.

Erumebor also highlighted the administration's failure to deliver on key economic promises. "They said they plan to lift 100 million out of poverty. In fact, from the reforms and what we have, more Nigerians have been thrown into poverty. 50 million jobs—I am sure we can see the jobs," he remarked sarcastically.

The economist pointed to the dramatic depreciation of the naira, which has fallen from "N550-600 per dollar" to "around N1,500 per dollar" during Tinubu's tenure.

Despite the overall negative assessment, Erumebor acknowledged some positive developments in recent months. "There are areas that have improved gradually. Looking at external reserves, we were doing $30 billion then, now around $38 billion. There is some stability in the exchange rate, the same with the balance of trade," he noted.

President Tinubu was inaugurated on May 29, 2023, and has implemented several economic reforms including the removal of fuel subsidies and floating of the naira, which have been controversial due to their immediate impact on citizens' cost of living.

This assessment comes amid ongoing debates about Nigeria's economic direction, with the Tinubu administration recently criticizing African Development Bank (AfDB) President Akinwumi Adesina for his comment that Nigeria's per capita GDP will be worse in 2025 than it was in 1960.