By Peter Omopo
September 2, 2025
President Bola Tinubu has said Nigeria remains confident and resilient in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping trade policies, including new tariffs that now affect Nigerian exports.
Speaking on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja during a solidarity visit by The Buhari Organisation, led by former Nasarawa governor Senator Tanko Almakura, Tinubu said the country’s expanding non-oil revenue base has provided a buffer against global shocks.
“If non-oil revenue is growing, then we have no fear of whatever Trump is doing on the other side,” the president said.
Tinubu highlighted Nigeria’s improved fiscal outlook, noting that government revenues had already surpassed the 2025 target by August. He also cited the recent stabilisation of the naira, which has strengthened to about ₦1,450 per dollar, compared to ₦1,900 before the unification of exchange rates in 2023.
Trump, who began his second term in January, has unveiled a sweeping “America First” trade policy, including a 10 per cent baseline tariff on nearly all imports and additional country-specific levies. Nigeria now faces a 15 per cent tariff on its exports to the U.S., effective from August 7. However, energy products such as crude oil and gas remain exempt.
The president also pointed to progress in domestic reforms, particularly in agriculture. He said ongoing mechanisation programmes were central to food security and long-term economic stability.
“If we remove hunger, we have defeated poverty,” Tinubu told his visitors, stressing that self-sufficiency in food production is a cornerstone of his administration’s recovery strategy.
Despite growing global trade tensions, Tinubu reassured Nigerians that his government is steering the economy on a path that can withstand external disruptions.
