Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has acknowledged that President Bola Tinubu’s administration has made progress in stabilising the foreign exchange market by adopting market-driven principles.

Ezekwesili, who spoke in an interview with News Central Television, however, said the improvement in the foreign exchange market had yet to translate into better living conditions for the average Nigerian.

She said Nigerians were still struggling to feel the impact of the government’s economic reforms, noting that widespread poverty and the rising cost of living remained major concerns.

According to her, Nigeria is yet to overcome its economic challenges despite some improvement in macroeconomic stability.

“The only thing that, as I said at the beginning, we can give to them is that they are getting a handle on macroeconomic stability. So, for example, the volatility we have with foreign exchange rate is quieter because they are abiding by market principles for foreign exchange policy,” she said.

Ezekwesili also criticised the government’s handling of inflation, arguing that the sharp increase in prices could have been avoided and was partly the result of policy decisions.

She cautioned against assessing the economy solely through macroeconomic indicators, stressing that structural challenges affecting productivity and household incomes must also be addressed.

The former minister identified low productivity as one of the major obstacles to economic growth, job creation and improved living standards.

She further attributed Nigeria’s economic difficulties to structural misalignments arising from policy choices that, in her view, have failed to adequately address the country’s productivity challenges and expand economic opportunities for citizens.