By Seun Ibiyemi
President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday received commendation from Deloitte Africa over his administration’s ongoing fiscal and economic reforms, with the global consulting firm pledging stronger collaboration to support investments, youth development and job creation in Nigeria.
Tinubu spoke while receiving a delegation from Deloitte Africa, led by its Chief Executive Officer, Ruwayda Redfearn, at the State House in Abuja.
The President said the reforms initiated by his administration over the past three years had begun to stabilise the economy and lay the foundation for long-term growth and development.
“We are following the example of Deloitte’s greatness to change things from the foundation, building the necessary future for our people,” Tinubu said.
He acknowledged that the reform measures had been difficult but insisted they were beginning to yield positive results.
“Yes, reforms are difficult. It has not been a McDonald’s customer relationship but a harvester of good things, if implemented well, and that is what we are about,” the President stated.
Tinubu thanked Deloitte for its support and interest in Nigeria’s economic transformation, noting that the administration would continue to implement revenue and tax reforms aimed at stimulating growth.
“The reforms on revenue will continue to stimulate growth. And the effect of the reform? Yes, some issues are difficult to take, the bitter medicine, but it is working well. For the economy, Nigeria is making serious foundational progress,” he added.
The President said the reforms had strengthened Nigeria’s fiscal and revenue systems, repositioned financial institutions and enhanced the country’s competitiveness in the global economy.
He also urged Deloitte Africa to deepen its contribution to Nigeria’s development by investing in the training and employment of young Nigerians.
“The family of Deloitte; you just reminded me of my cradle years in accountancy and where I cut my childhood accounting teeth in Chicago. Deloitte has a good training programme, and I believe you will continue to reflect that,” Tinubu said.
Also speaking at the meeting, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, encouraged the accounting and consulting firm to prioritise capacity building for Nigerian youths.
In her remarks, Deloitte Africa CEO Ruwayda Redfearn said the organisation remained committed to supporting Nigeria’s economic agenda.
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She noted that Deloitte, which employs more than 500,000 people globally and over 6,000 across Africa, specialises in digital and business transformation.
“We are before you to say that we want to serve. We have a local team on the ground that is ready, as well as the global firm, to support you and support your administration as you lead the country,” Redfearn said.
She added that Deloitte generated $74 billion in revenue in 2025.
The Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte West Africa, Yomi Olugbenro, also expressed support for the administration’s reform programme, saying the focus should now shift towards ensuring that ordinary Nigerians benefit from the economic changes.
“We believe that the ground has been solidly laid. There is a need to truly extract more value and deliver the dividends of democracy to ordinary Nigerians,” Olugbenro said.
He assured the President that Deloitte would leverage its global expertise and international experience to support Nigeria’s development objectives.
