President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday declared that his administration has achieved its annual revenue target ahead of schedule, driven largely by non-oil income, and will no longer resort to borrowing from domestic banks.

Speaking at the State House while hosting a delegation of The Buhari Organization (TBO), made up of members of the defunct Congress for Progressives Change (CPC) led by former Nasarawa State governor, Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, Tinubu said the country’s economy has stabilised.

“There is a guarantee that I know. Many of you had to suffer the initial abuse and the fear of where we were going. But today, I can brag that Nigeria is no longer borrowing a dime from local banks,” the President said.

He disclosed that the Federal Government had met its entire 2025 revenue target by August, stressing that the achievement was an indication of strong performance in non-oil revenue collection.

“What we need now is to create jobs for the people. I have just signed up for a huge mechanisation programme, with centres in every region, to drive agricultural production and ensure food security. If we remove hunger, we defeat poverty,” Tinubu added.

The President commended CPC stalwarts who have remained with the All Progressives Congress (APC) despite not securing appointments, promising to accommodate them in ambassadorial positions.

Reaffirming his commitment to continue the legacy of former President Muhammadu Buhari, Tinubu told his visitors not to be intimidated ahead of the 2027 elections. “Don’t let anybody threaten you with uncertainty. The path to Nigeria’s recovery is clear, and we are confident of success,” he said.

Earlier, Al-Makura pledged the CPC bloc’s loyalty to the President, assuring that the group would mobilise nationwide to secure APC’s victory in 2027. “We are with you in loyalty, in person, and in purpose,” he said.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, who was part of the delegation, also reaffirmed the bloc’s solidarity. He dismissed claims of disunity within the CPC family, insisting that over 90 percent of its pioneer leaders remained committed to Tinubu’s leadership.

The visit was attended by several prominent CPC members, including former ministers, party executives, and stalwarts of the Buhari Support Organisation.

The Labour Party (LP) vice-presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Datti Baba-Ahmed, has called for former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, to be questioned over his claim that the Federal Government is paying bandits.

Baba-Ahmed, who spoke on Tuesday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, faulted the response of the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, which dismissed El-Rufai’s allegation as baseless.

“If the so-called office of the National Security Adviser would take this statement with levity, then Nuhu Ribadu was never a policeman; he is not a qualified lawyer; he should not be in that office,” Baba-Ahmed said.

He insisted that El-Rufai’s claim was too serious to be brushed aside. “Nasir should be writing some statements to the police, to the courts,” he added.

On Sunday, El-Rufai had alleged that both the Federal Government and Kaduna State were paying monthly allowances to bandits and providing them with food under what he described as a “kiss-the-bandits” policy. He maintained that such an approach was only empowering criminals.

The NSA and Kaduna State Government have both denied the claim, but Baba-Ahmed argued that the denial was insufficient. “That is not a reaction. Are people understanding the gravity of this statement?” he asked.

The LP chieftain said any declaration of such magnitude amounted to a national policy, which, if true, would require open government communication. “A national policy is the official position of a government; an official declaration that this is what we shall be constitutionally doing,” he said. “Was such a thing held? Why did Nasir say it?”

El-Rufai, a founding member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has in recent weeks been vocal about insecurity in Nigeria, drawing strong reactions from both government officials and opposition figures.

Nigeria’s exchange rate has shown relative stability in recent weeks, with forex traders crediting the development to the country’s currency swap agreement with China and the rise of peer-to-peer (P2P) foreign currency trading.

The President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Aminu Gwadebe, said Chinese traders are increasingly accepting naira for yuan rather than demanding U.S. dollars, reducing pressure on the Nigerian currency.

“The Chinese are now collecting naira for yuan, doing P2P. Go to any mining factory and you will see a Chinese man in Nigeria… these two factors are working right now. There is a lot of liquidity in the market,” Gwadebe told Nairametrics.

Nigeria and China first signed the swap deal in 2018, allowing both countries’ central banks to provide liquidity in their respective currencies to facilitate trade. The agreement, reportedly renewed in December 2024 at about $2 billion, was designed to cut dependence on the dollar for transactions between Africa’s largest economy and its biggest trading partner.

Gwadebe stressed that Nigerian importers from China no longer need to rely on the dollar, saying: “If a Nigerian is importing from China, all he needs is yuan to settle his affairs. You don’t even need dollars.”

However, another trader, Yusuf, cautioned that while the swap deal has helped reduce dollar demand, the U.S. dollar remains dominant because it is more widely accepted globally. He noted that many Chinese suppliers still insist on being paid in dollars, and yuan liquidity in the Nigerian street market remains limited.

Nigeria imported ₦14.14 trillion worth of goods from China and exported over ₦3 trillion in 2024, highlighting the scale of bilateral trade. Analysts say that while the swap agreement has helped stabilize the naira, its impact may remain modest given that imports from China account for just 20% of Nigeria’s annual total imports.