The President insists reforms, revenue growth, and the food security agenda shield Nigeria from U.S. trade policy turbulence
President Bola Tinubu has declared that Nigeria remains resilient in the face of sweeping trade measures introduced by U.S. President Donald Trump, insisting that his administration is not shaken by the new tariff regime that now affects Nigerian exports.
Speaking on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja when he received members of The Buhari Organisation led by former Nasarawa State governor, Senator Tanko Almakura, Tinubu maintained that Nigeria’s economic fundamentals, strengthened by reforms in revenue generation and agriculture, provided adequate buffers against external shocks.
“If non-oil revenue is growing, then we have no fear of whatever Trump is doing on the other side,” the President said, stressing that his government had achieved a fiscal breakthrough by meeting its 2025 revenue target as early as August. He also noted the relative stability in the foreign exchange market, pointing out that the naira had appreciated from around N1,900 to about N1,450 per dollar after his administration unified the exchange rates shortly after he assumed office in May 2023.
Trump, who began his second term with an aggressive overhaul of U.S. trade policy, announced a new tariff structure on April 2 under his “America First” agenda. The policy introduced a 10 percent baseline levy on nearly all imports, followed by country-specific tariffs that range from 11 to 50 percent. Nigeria, among other sub-Saharan African partners, was hit with a 15 percent tariff on its exports effective August 7, an increase from the 14 percent rate imposed in April. Although oil and gas exports were exempted, analysts say heightened trade tensions have already depressed global energy markets in 2025, disrupting demand for crude, gasoline, and diesel.
Tinubu argued that Nigeria’s economic diversification drive offered protection from such turbulence. He highlighted his administration’s mechanisation programme across agricultural regions, which he described as crucial to eradicating hunger and poverty. “If we remove hunger, we have defeated poverty,” he told his visitors, emphasising food security as a cornerstone of his recovery strategy.
Beyond the economy, the President reflected on his long political journey with the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, offering a rare glimpse into the early days of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He recalled how, during merger negotiations that birthed the APC in 2013, he and Buhari had disagreed even on the choice of the party’s logo. “We disagreed to agree… We even argued over a symbol. He insisted on parliament, and I insisted on broom,” Tinubu said to laughter, adding that Buhari had been “so stubborn” during those deliberations.
Tuesday’s meeting, which brought together key northern APC leaders including Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda and former governor Aminu Masari, was seen as a move to consolidate the party’s ranks ahead of the 2027 electoral cycle.
The APC was officially formed in February 2013 from the merger of four opposition parties—the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). Tinubu, then National Leader of the ACN, and Buhari, who headed the CPC, were central figures in the coalition that eventually ended the dominance of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by bringing Buhari to power in the 2015 elections.
With Trump’s tariffs reshaping global trade and Nigeria’s domestic reforms gaining traction, Tinubu projected confidence that the country would not only weather the storm but also emerge stronger through diversification, fiscal discipline, and a relentless push for food security.
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