Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga on Friday defended President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms, saying the President “took the bullets” needed to stop Nigeria from sliding into fiscal crisis.
In an opinion piece titled “Bola Tinubu: the man who took the bullet for Nigeria to survive,” Onanuga accused opposition politicians of spreading misinformation ahead of the 2027 elections despite what he described as the administration’s achievements over the past three years.
Tinubu, who took office on May 29, 2023, marked his third anniversary on Friday.
According to Onanuga, the President inherited an economy weighed down by fuel scarcity, multiple exchange rates, weak revenue, heavy debt servicing and an unsustainable fuel subsidy system.
He said Tinubu’s decision to remove petrol subsidy and float the naira was painful but necessary to avoid economic disaster and increase 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.
He said many states could now pay salaries and fund projects because of higher allocations.
“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.
Onanuga also cited governors from Kwara, Ebonyi, Enugu and Nasarawa as praising the Federal Government’s policies.
He added that the All-Share Index climbed from about 53,000 points in May 2023 to about 250,000 points, while market capitalisation rose from N30tn to N160tn.
He also highlighted projects such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway, rail investments, oil and gas reforms, NELFUND student loans and CREDICORP consumer credit schemes.
On insecurity, Onanuga admitted bandit and terrorist attacks remained a challenge but said the government was supporting security agencies with equipment and international cooperation.
