Tonye Cole, the 2023 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, has said Nigerians may need to wait about two to three years before they fully feel the effects of President Bola Tinubu’s reforms.
Speaking on Political Paradigm, a programme on Channels Television, Cole said early signs may appear in the economy, but ordinary citizens will take longer to notice real change in their daily lives.
“If you ask me, I suspect that before you begin to see the impact at the very bottom, if you allow things to just move naturally, you are going to look for another two to three years before you see it,” he said.
He explained that people at the grassroots are mostly worried about basic survival needs like food, transport, and steady income, stressing that reforms must eventually improve these areas to matter.
“The man at the bottom… cares about feeding, transportation and getting a job that will at least pay.”
Cole also said government must intentionally push strong welfare programmes so that economic progress can reach more people, adding that Nigeria still struggles to spread benefits across its large population.
Even with current economic pressure, he expressed hope in Nigeria’s long-term direction, pointing to rising investor confidence linked to Tinubu’s reforms such as fuel subsidy removal, foreign exchange unification, and tax adjustments.
