Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Friday defended the APC-led administration’s economic reforms, saying his principal “took the bullets” needed to save Nigeria from fiscal collapse.
Onanuga, in a piece titled “Bola Tinubu: the man who took the bullet for Nigeria to survive,” stated that opposition politicians had intensified campaigns of misinformation ahead of the 2027 general election despite what he described as the administration’s achievements over the last three years.
The Nigerian leader, who was sworn into office on May 29, 2023, marks their third anniversary on Friday.
According to the presidential adviser, Tinubu took over a suffering economy in May 2023, marked by petrol scarcity, various exchange rates, limited income generation, heavy debt servicing, and an unsustainable fuel subsidy system.
He stated that the president’s immediate removal of the petrol subsidy and floating of the naira were painful but necessary reforms that prevented economic disaster and improved allocations to states and local governments.
“The man who has taken the bullets to make Nigeria survive a fiscal disaster is even more willing to take additional bullets to make all Nigerians safe,” Onanuga stated.
Onanuga argued that many state governments were now able to pay salaries and embark on infrastructure projects because of increased allocations resulting from the reforms.
“In every state I have visited, I have seen this development. Ogun, my state; Oyo; Nasarawa; Enugu; Ebonyi; Kaduna; Kano; Kebbi; Katsina; and others have witnessed development projects spring up, thanks to President Tinubu’s re-engineering of the federation’s finances and increased allocation to the states.
“When local councils begin to receive their allocations directly from the Federation Account, the Tinubu effect will ensure that more governance cascades down to the 774 local councils,” he said.
He mentioned governors of Kwara, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Nasarawa states as publicly acknowledging the benefits of the federal government’s policies.
He claimed, “Many opposition PDP governors who joined the APC did so for this reason—not for the baseless claim that President Tinubu bribed them.” Governor Abdulrazak said in December 2024 that his administration embarked on more projects in the first 18 months of Tinubu’s presidency than in his first four years.
“The governor of Ebonyi, Nwifuru, who is building iconic underpasses and overpasses in Abakaliki, credited his ambition to President Tinubu. Governor Peter Mbah similarly attested to this, crediting the Naira rain from the center for his programs.
“And Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule, who understands how Tinubu’s financial re-engineering and the end of the subsidy regime have increased the states’ fortunes, said President Tinubu ‘has taken the bullets for all of them.’”
According to him, the All-Share Index surged from roughly 53,000 points in May 2023 to around 250,000 points, while market capitalization increased from N30 trillion to N160 trillion.
He also stated that the administration had launched major infrastructure projects such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway, calling them some of the most ambitious road projects since independence.
The presidential spokesman also mentioned investments in rail transportation, oil and gas reforms, the growth of student loan schemes through NELFUND, and consumer credit efforts through CREDICORP.
According to Onanuga, the administration has also improved electricity supply through grid renovations, metering initiatives, and measures to settle residual debts due to generation companies.
He admitted that insecurity remained a big concern, notably attacks by bandits and terrorists in certain sections of the country, but stated that the government was providing security services with equipment and international cooperation to confront the dangers.
Onanuga stated that historians would remember the Tinubu administration for its “historic reforms” and transformative infrastructure projects aimed at repositioning Nigeria’s economy.
