President Bola Tinubu has said Nigeria is making “serious foundational progress” as his administration continues to implement fiscal, revenue and tax reforms aimed at stabilising the economy and driving long-term growth.
Gatekeepers News reports that the President made the remarks on Wednesday while receiving a delegation from Deloitte Africa, led by its Chief Executive Officer, Ruwayda Redfearn, at the State House in Abuja.
Defending his administration’s economic policies, Tinubu acknowledged that the reforms had required difficult decisions but maintained that they were beginning to yield positive results.
“We are following the example of Deloitte’s greatness to change things from the foundation, building the necessary future for our people.
“Yes, reforms are difficult. It has not been a McDonald’s customer relationship but a harvester of good things, if implemented well, and that is what we are about,” the President said.
He thanked Deloitte for its continued engagement with Nigeria and noted that the reforms outlined by the Ministry of Finance were helping to move the country forward.
“Thank you for your partnership in paying attention to what we are doing here, as we have heard from the Honourable Minister of Finance about the fiscal, revenue and tax reforms that have taken place and are moving the nation forward.
“The reforms on revenue will continue to stimulate growth. And the effect of the reform? Yes, some issues are difficult to take the bitter medicine, but it is working well. For the economy, Nigeria is making serious foundational progress,” Tinubu stated.
According to the President, the reforms have strengthened the country’s fiscal and revenue systems, repositioned financial institutions and enhanced Nigeria’s competitiveness on the global stage.
Tinubu also encouraged Deloitte Africa to expand its presence in Nigeria by creating more opportunities for youth training and employment, describing the country’s youthful population as a major asset.
Reflecting on his professional background, he praised the firm’s longstanding reputation for developing talent.
“The family of Deloitte; you just reminded me of my cradle years in accountancy and where I cut my childhood accounting teeth in Chicago. Deloitte has a good training programme, and I believe you will continue to reflect that,” he said.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, also urged the global consulting firm to make capacity development for Nigerian youths a key part of its collaboration with the Federal Government.
Earlier, Deloitte Africa CEO Ruwayda Redfearn commended the administration’s reform agenda and reaffirmed the firm’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s economic transformation through investment, job creation and youth development.
She noted that Deloitte generated $74 billion in revenue in 2025 and employs more than 500,000 people worldwide, including over 6,000 across Africa, adding that the organisation was ready to deploy its global expertise to support the government’s priorities.
“We are before you to say that we want to serve. We have a local team on the ground that is ready, as well as the global firm, to support you and support your administration as you lead the country,” Redfearn said.
Also speaking, Deloitte Africa Chief Executive Officer, Yomi Olugbenro, said the firm’s focus was to help ensure that the benefits of the government’s reforms reached ordinary Nigerians.
“We do what we do because of the philosophy that our Africa CEOs talk about – making an impact that matters. Where we are at the moment, we believe that the ground has been solidly laid. There is a need to truly extract more value and deliver the dividends of democracy to ordinary Nigerians on the street. The bigger work is really about how to cascade some of those big reforms further down.
“We do believe that with the capabilities that the firm has all over the world, with the half a million people that our CEO spoke about, we have use cases, examples, experiences of how we supported nations all around the world, so Nigeria will definitely benefit from those experiences.
“So that is why we are here, and we welcome the invitation that you may grant us as to where exactly you want us to support you,” he added.
