FOLLOWING the nationwide protests rocking Nigeria over economic hardship, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu addressed citizens in the early hours of Sunday, August 4, 2024.
Since August 1, hundreds of Nigerians have taken to the streets to demand economic and political reforms including reversal of some government policies. The protests which began peacefully, later turned violent in many states leading to deaths of some Nigerians and destruction of properties.
Tagged “10 days of rage,” or “End Bad Governance in Nigeria”, the protests have led to the trending of hashtags like #EndBadGovernance, #EndBGIN, #EndBadGovernance2024 and #EndBadGovernanceinNigeria on multiple social media platforms, especially on X for days.
Media reports on Thursday (August 1) indicated that the #EndBadGovernance protest kicked off in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Borno, among other Nigerian states.
The ICIR is providing LIVE UPDATES from the scene of the protests across the country here.
The Nigerian government’s policies such as the removal of petrol subsidies and the floating of the naira have brought more economic hardship on most Nigerians as the nation’s inflation rate rose to a 28-year high in June 2024, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Addressing Nigerians via a nationwide broadcast in the early hours of August 4, President Tinubu highlighted some of the achievements recorded by his administration in the last 14 months to cushion the effects of economic hardship on the citizens.
The FactCheckHub team monitored the Nigerian president’s broadcast on Channels TV and examines the veracity of the claims in his speech as shown below:
CLAIM 1
Nigeria has increased crude oil production to 1.61 million barrels per day.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.
According to the latest data from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Nigeria’s average daily crude oil production stood at 1.276 million barrels per day (bpd) in June 2024 based on data submitted by the Nigerian government which is an OPEC member.
OPEC gathers data on crude oil production from direct communication from member countries and secondary communication, such as energy intelligence platforms.
This represents an increase of just 25,000 barrels daily from 1.251 million barrels bpd recorded in May 2024.
According to secondary sources, Nigeria retained its position as the largest oil producer in Africa with 1.362 million bpd in June 2024 closely trailed by Libya which produced 1.2 million bpd for the same month.
Although the Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, in May 2024 said that Nigeria’s crude oil production was approaching 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd). He did not explicitly said that the country had achieved the feat.
THE VERDICT
The claim by Tinubu that Nigeria has increased crude oil production to 1.61 million barrels per day is FALSE; OPEC’s July report shows that it’s 1.362 million bpd in June 2024.
CLAIM 2
Nigeria has cleared all legitimate outstanding foreign exchange obligations of about $5 billion.
THE FINDINGS
Checks by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is TRUE.
Nigeria has faced significant economic challenges in recent years, including issues related to foreign exchange (FX) obligations and debt service ratios. The country’s dependency on oil revenues and fluctuating global oil prices have exacerbated these challenges, leading to substantial FX backlogs and mounting debt.
On February 5, 2024, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, said he inherited a $7 billion foreign exchange (FX) backlog when he became the head of the apex bank in September 2023. However, it has dropped to $2.2 billion. By March this year, the CBN said it had concluded the payment of $1.5 billion and successfully settled all outstanding FX obligations.
The acting director of Corporate Communications at the CBN, Hakama Sidi Ali, disclosed that independent auditors from Deloitte Consulting meticulously assessed these transactions, ensuring that only legitimate claims were honoured.
She said any invalid transactions were promptly referred to the relevant authorities for further scrutiny.
“Clearance of the foreign exchange transactions backlog is part of the overall strategy detailed in last month’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting to stabilise the exchange rate and thereby curb imported inflation, spurring confidence in the banking system and the economy,” Ali said.
THE VERDICT
The claim by Tinubu that Nigeria has cleared legitimate outstanding foreign exchange obligations of about $5 billion is TRUE.
CLAIM 3
Decreased debt burden has given the Nigerian government more financial freedom and the room to spend more on funding essential social services like education and healthcare.
THE FINDINGS
Checks by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MOSTLY FALSE.
Tinubu’s 2024 budget increased for Education compared to the previous year’s allocation. He budgeted N1.59 trillion for the education sector, representing 5.54% per cent of the total budget of N28.7 trillion. The budget, however, falls short of the 15 – 20 per cent recommendation by the UNESCO. Throughout Buhari’s eight-year tenure from 2015 to 2023, the education budget hovered between 6 and 8 per cent of total budget and Tinubu-led government has not surpassed this feat.
The same thing goes for the health sector. Tinubu allocated N1.34 trillion to the health sector, representing 4.64 per cent of the budget. This is lower in percentage than the N1.17 trillion (4.91%) health budget approved by his predecessor (Buhari) in 2023.
In what is famously known as the Abuja Declaration, Heads of Government in Africa agreed to allocate 15 per cent of their national budgets to the health sector in 2001 at a meeting in Abuja. Successive Nigerian governments have since failed to meet up with this obligation including President Tinubu’s administration.
In addition, Nigeria’s debt burden has increased contrary to President Tinubu’s claim.
The most recent data on the debt burden released by the nation’s Debt Management Office (DMO) show that Nigeria’s total public debts stood at N121.67 trillion ($91.46 billion) as of March 31, 2024 while it was N49.85 trillion as of March 31, 2023. That’s an increase of N71.82 trillion within the one year period under review, courtesy of the rising FX rate. Please note that the CBN Official Exchange Rate was US$1 to NGN460.35 as at March 31, 2023 whereas, it was US$1 to N1,330.26 as at March 31, 2024.
These were also corroborated by data from the CBN and NBS respectively.
THE VERDICT
Tinubu’s administration has not surpassed his predecessors in terms of increased funding to health and education sectors by percentage of the total budget, though there’s an increase in the sum allocated to each sector in the 2024 budget. Also, the claim that Nigeria’s debt burden has decreased is MOSTLY FALSE.
CLAIM 4
N45.6 billion has already been processed for payment to students and their respective institutions as loan.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub revealed that the claim is UNPROVEN.
President Bola Tinubu enacted an initial version of the student loan policy in June 2023 to grant interest-free loans to students.
NELFund opened the loan application portal on May 24, 2024 following which a pilot phase to serve federal tertiary institutions began.
On August 2, 2024, two days before Tinubu’s address, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) announced that only N2.5 billion (N2,530,235,750) had been disbursed so far to the Nigerian students.
It also said a total of N442.4 million has been allocated as upkeep allowance to the applicants for July 2024 in six universities.
In an X post on August 5, NELFUND said it is diligently working to commence the payment process for students from approximately 55 additional tertiary institutions.
However, The FactCheckHub could not independently ascertain that N45.6 billion has been disbursed to all participating students as claimed, due to insufficient data available.
THE VERDICT
The claim that N45.6billion has already been processed for payment to students and their respective institutions as students’ loan is UNPROVEN due to insufficient data available.
CLAIM 5
The Consumer Credit Corporation with over N200 billion has been established.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MOSTLY TRUE!
Before the announcement made by President Tinubu during the live broadcast, Nairametrics reported that he had approved the launch of the first phase of the consumer credit scheme which would be implemented in phases.
Media platforms such as the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) and Nairametrics reported the news on Sunday August 4th 2024 which was culled from the President’s speech.
Also, a Google search conducted online shows that the name of the credit corporation Tinubu mentioned is the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation. A lookup on the website on whois. Domain tools shows that the website was created 125 days ago.
However, findings showed that the amount rolled out for the scheme was not specified on the website.
THE VERDICT
The claim that the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation has been established with over N200 billion is MOSTLY TRUE; the scheme was announced initially and its website was created in April 2024, though there’s no proof that the agency has been funded with the amount reported for the scheme.
CLAIM 6
Fertilisers have been distributed to farmers in Nigeria.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is TRUE!
In May 2024, Daily Trust reported that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security announced the commencement of the distribution of 2.15 million bags of fertiliser donated to it by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The minister of Agriculture noted that the move was to prepare for the wet farming season which is targeted at enhancing food security in the country.
Also in July 2024, Premium Times reported that during a plenary session, Nigeria’s Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, noted that there was an ongoing plan to distribute about 60 fertiliser trucks to each state through the governors while commenting on a motion sponsored by Sunday Karimi (Kogi West) to urgently address the country’s impending food insecurity.
On July 31, 2024, the Punch reported that the Oyo State Government, in partnership with the federal government, announced the distribution of 21,000 bags of various fertilizers to more than 10,500 farmers across the state at no cost.
Olasunkanmi Olaleye, the state Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, highlighted that this initiative aims to boost crop productivity, enhance food security, and increase the income of rural farmers. He emphasized that the state government is dedicated to improving agricultural productivity and supporting farmers’ long-term growth and success.
THE VERDICT
The claim that FG distributed fertilisers to farmers in Nigeria is TRUE; multiple media reports confirm the distribution of fertilisers to farmers in some states.
Nurudeen Akewushola is a fact-checker with FactCheckHub. He has authored several fact checks which have contributed to the fight against information disorder. You can reach him via [email protected] and @NurudeenAkewus1 via Twitter.
Seasoned fact-checker and researcher Fatimah Quadri has written numerous fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy pieces for The FactCheckHub in an effort to combat information disorder. She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or [email protected].
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