Tope Fasua, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Economic Affairs, has sparked debate after accusing some Nigerians of deliberately inflating prices of goods and services in a bid to undermine the federal government’s economic reform efforts.
In a strongly worded Facebook post on Monday, Fasua argued that Nigeria’s current inflation rate—recorded at 34.8%—is being exaggerated by opposition elements and opportunistic business owners seeking to paint the Tinubu administration in a negative light.
“I’ve been hammering on this for the past three months because I know Nigerians,” Fasua wrote. “Inflation peaked at 34.8% because everybody has hiked prices of everything—sometimes just to make the government look bad.”
According to the economist and policy adviser, the ongoing inflationary trend is not solely driven by traditional economic factors such as monetary policy or global commodity prices. Instead, he said, the phenomenon is largely psychological and emotionally driven.
“Prices were increased based on whims,” he said. “Sometimes increased because it will make the government look bad. Emotions get the better of many Nigerians. But in spite of the price increases, I was sure that the lowest and most vulnerable Nigerians will be made to suffer.”
Fasua’s comments were in reaction to a social media post highlighting how a petrol station in Abuja’s Maitama district continues to pay pump attendants as little as ₦10,000 per month, despite the economic hardship. He described such wage stagnation as exploitative and unacceptable.
“No so-called entrepreneur should be paying any staff at the same level as two years ago simply because they cannot protest or have no voice on social media,” he declared. “More of these situations should be pointed out wherever they exist.”
He also criticized the limited reach of labor unions, noting that only a small fraction of Nigeria’s workforce benefits from union protection.
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“Even NBS numbers say that 82% of Nigerians work in unstructured environments. Of the remaining 18%, barely half are unionised,” Fasua explained. “The rest work in banks and private sector entities that have since forgotten about unions.”
Citing examples from countries like Germany, where union advocacy has placed factory workers on corporate boards, Fasua lamented Nigeria’s resistance to such progressive labor innovations.
Fasua emphasized that compliance with the revised national minimum wage is not just a burden for federal and state governments but should also apply to the private sector and even individual households employing domestic workers.
“It’s not enough to hide under the Federal Government and accuse Tinubu, whose reforms have actually opened up the space to ensure Nigerians live better,” he said. “This is the last mile in the reforms; to ensure that the average Nigerian is not used as cannon fodder by ruthless pseudo-capitalists, many of whom are making untold money as a result of the reforms.”
The Tinubu administration has come under mounting pressure over the cost of living crisis, driven by fuel subsidy removal, currency devaluation, and rising costs of essentials. While government officials tout ongoing economic reforms as necessary and forward-looking, public perception remains mixed amid rising poverty and declining purchasing power.
Fasua’s remarks add a new dimension to the conversation, placing responsibility on the private sector and individual actors for compounding inflationary pressures and neglecting their own roles in upholding fair economic practices.