Tinubu’s Aide Defends Naira, Says N2,500 Can Buy a Meal in Lekki Amid Backlash

President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Economic Affairs, Dr. Tope Fasua, has clarified his earlier comments regarding the value of the naira and poverty in Nigeria, amid growing controversy.

Fasua had previously defended the naira’s value domestically, stating that despite its weakness against the dollar—where $1 now equals over ₦1,500—that amount can still purchase a meal in Nigeria, unlike in the U.S.

During an interview on Arise TV on Tuesday, Fasua explained that he was not denying the reality of poverty in the country, but stressed that ₦1,500 (approximately $1) can still feed an individual in certain regions of Nigeria.

He said, “As against those that have been misquoting and sensationalizing, nobody is saying that there’s no poverty in Nigeria. In fact, luckily for me, I got people sending videos from Lagos to Maiduguri, saying that they actually ate for N1,500 yesterday.

“If you’re earning minimum wage and you’re struggling in life, you know, you have to make choices like that.”

He further shared his personal experience from a visit to a restaurant in Lekki, Lagos, where he found that N2,500 could buy a meal.

“I was somewhere in Lekki yesterday, precisely Black Bell. I saw that someone could eat for N2,500. N2,500, even in Lekki Face 1. I mean, I didn’t know where to go. Someone just took me there because I had another interview,” he said.

While acknowledging the hardships many Nigerians experience, Fasua clarified that his comments were never meant to ridicule or undermine the struggles of those living in poverty.

He said, “So, yes, people can’t afford that, I agree. But I think that empirically speaking, my statement was correct. I said something, I said 1,500 is a lot of money to a lot of Nigerians.

“And that’s because I acknowledge the fact that a lot of people are down on their luck and poor. So, saying N1,500 is a lot of money is not a mockery of those who see that as a lot.

“If you are leaving this place now and you gave the security guy 1,000, he will appreciate you. He will have a meal on that. I’m saying that a lot of Nigerians are in that category.”

In his remarks, Fasua highlighted the issue of economic inequality in Nigeria, stressing the importance of collaborative efforts from both the private and public sectors to address the problem.

He also touched on the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting that the economic fallout from the global health crisis could take decades to fully overcome.

“My reason for shooting on this is to say, that the private sector and even the government sector must be put under pressure to understand that this inequality is increasing as against what it was before.

“But we can’t rest on our oars. We know there’s a problem already because post-COVID and, you know, when something as cataclysmic as COVID happens, sometimes it takes 10, 20 years for you to come back to.

“We’re hoping that President Trump’s experimental governance this time around will not set us back even further.”