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Bayo Onanuga
Opposition politicians are intensifying their misinformation campaign and slander to undermine the achievements and impact of this government over the past three years.
The campaign made more sense two years ago when the government was still struggling with unintended effects of their historic reforms. The campaign is no longer relevant, since the government can now boast about what it’s achieved despite all odds.
State and local governments are the most affected by the government’s three-year tenure. States who were previously unable to meet their obligations for months to workers and retirees, and could not pay salaries until May 2023 are now able to do so and have big dreams about infrastructure. This development has been evident in every state that I’ve visited.
Ogun, Oyo and my own state Oyo have seen development projects sprout up thanks to Tinubu’s restructuring of the federal finances and increasing allocations to states. Tinubu’s re-engineering of the federation’s finances and increased allocation to states has resulted in the development of many projects.
The state governors that have benefitted from the policy admit openly that they have been able to develop their states in terms of social development and infrastructure. This is the reason why many opposition PDP Governors joined the APC, not because President Tinubu had bribed or induced them to do so. In December 2024, Governor Abdulrazak stated that the administration had undertaken more projects during Tinubu’s first 18 months than it did in its first four years. Nwifuru the Governor of Ebonyi who is building underpasses, overpasses, and iconic structures in Abakaliki credited President Tinubu for his ambitious plans. Peter Mbah, the Governor of Ebonyi State attested in the same way.
He credited the Naira Rain from the Centre for the success of his programs. Nasarawa State governor Abdullahi Sule said that Tinubu, having understood how Tinubu’s financial reengineering, and ending the subsidy system, have improved the fortunes of states, “has taken bullets for them all.”
Tinubu was inherited by President Tinubu in May 2023 an acute scarcity of petrol, a subsidy system that would expire on June 20, 2023 and multiple exchange rates. He also inherited arbitrage and low revenues, as at least thirty states were unable to fund social and infrastructure projects, or pay their workers. The debt servicing consumed 97% of the Federal revenues. Inflation and food shortages plagued the nation as well, with farmers abandoning their fields.
They suffered massive losses due to the tightening of currency introduced by the former CBN governor Godwin Emefiele.
Tinubu wasted no time, guided by his Renewed Hope Agenda. From Day 1, he threw out the disastrous subsidy. He floated the Naira a few days later and stopped the artificial fixation of the Naira to dollar exchange rate. This system had allowed well-connected people to easily profit.
Tinubu announced a national food crisis and the formation of the Presidential Committee on fiscal policy and tax reforms, which will examine outdated tax laws dating back to colonial times. In order to achieve immediate gains, the government provided subsidies and inputs for farms adjacent to dams and irrigation areas in 14 states.
According to President Tinubu, even the initial months and first year of the implementation were difficult. Cost of living increased, while businesses said that the new exchange rate put them into the red. Several companies closed their doors and even left the country. Some Nigerians have claimed on the street that these policies are making them starving. The opposition has repeated this sentiment without evidence to date.
Tinubu, if he had not been sure about the importance of his reforms would have reverted to fright in fear and abandoned the reform policies amidst the barrage of criticism and attacks by opposition and critics in the media. He persisted.
After the initial difficult year, things have changed forever. Some opposition members are still stuck on the 2023/24 sentiment, refusing to acknowledge the numerous gains and landmarks that the Tinubu Administration has achieved. Only the blind would deny that the Tinubu administration has moved the country far away from its state in 2023.
Stock market success is a clear indicator of economic progress.
Tinubu’s All-Share Index was 53,000 in May 2023 and market capitalisation N30 Trillion. ASI is now five times higher, at a new record of 250,000 points, and the market cap has increased to N160 Trillion. Companies, even those that were initially adversely affected by the government’s policies, have declared record dividends and profits. Foreign portfolio investors also flock to Nigeria in order to take part in its boom. It isn’t a bubble.
This shows that the Tinubu government’s economic policy has led to a paradigm shift in the country.
Recently, I went back to the original manifesto that we ran on and the policy goals which won us our election. Tinubu’s administration is implementing its Renewed Hope agenda, which aims to solve in three years all the problems that have accumulated over decades.
Nationally, roads that are built to last beyond this generation’s lifespan are being constructed. I was surprised to see that my hometown, Ijebu Ode in Ogun state, has now a thick concrete road from Shagamu, which can withstand trailer traffic from the West. The most audacious road projects ever undertaken by any administration since independence are the Illela-Sokoto-Badagry and the Lagos-Calabar coastal superhighways. Shehu Shegari, the President of the Republic at the time, conceived this highway between Sokoto and Badagry in the 1980s.
The road was abandoned by successive administrations because of its high cost.
No leader had ever taken the initiative to make the Lagos-Calabar a reality. Tinubu is a leader with a vision who decided to make the road a reality. He has added new roads, which are beyond the ones we received from colonial rule, to the network of roads.
Myopic critics have criticized the Tinubu government for borrowing money to build the roads. If we rely on only the FG share of FAAC, how else could these roads be built?
If we rely solely on the federal budget, it would take 50 years, or even longer, and costs will balloon out of our reach. This is what happened with Rotimi Chibuke-Amaechi’s metro rail project in Port Harcourt in Rivers State. Governors in the state are also building similar roads. Some of them I have seen in Ogun Kaduna Ebonyi Enugu.
As with roads, the Tinubu administration is also investing heavily in rail transportation, with the Kaduna-Kano-Gusau-Maraadi rail network scheduled for completion next year. Construction of city rail networks has been approved in Kaduna and Lagos.
Kano, Enugu, and Kano-Kano have also received approval.
In 2031, historians will remember the Tinubu government not only for its audacious rail and road networks but also historic reforms.
Oil and Gas is an area where the government has had a positive impact on the country. The government, in addition to ending the wasteful subsidy regime, has implemented reforms which have attracted new investment.
International Oil Companies (IOCs), which once avoided our country, are now returning to invest billions of dollar. The innovative policy of naira for crude and domestic refining ensures energy security and avoids acute shortages arising from disruptions caused by the war with Iran and closure of Strait of Hormuz. The administration has also enacted a new policy requiring that the NNPC remits oil sale proceeds into the Federation Account.
In 2031, historians will remember the Tinubu government not only for its audacious rail and road networks but also because of historic reforms.
The government has ended the wasteful subsides, introduced reforms that will attract new investment and brought back international oil companies to Nigeria. The innovative policy of converting Naira into crude oil and domestic refining ensures energy security by avoiding global crises. Recent requirements were made for NNPC to remit the proceeds of oil sales to the Federation Account.
Faced with the stellar performance of the government, opposition activists and propagandists in the media stoked up an old campaign video where the President promised a 24-hour power supply. His words were distorted. He actually said: “By any means, electricity will be provided to you, and no estimated bills will ever again exist. Promises made are kept. “If I fail to keep my promise, and I run for another term, please don’t support me unless I can give you good reasons for why I could not deliver.”
The distorters did not admit that it was the Discos who are in charge of delivering electricity to end users, and not the Federal Government.
In the past three years, the government addressed the issues that hindered the ability of Discos. This included bringing in Siemens to improve the grid and activating inactive GENCOs. It also planned to pay off the N4 trillion in legacy debts owed by GENCOs and GASCos.
In addition, the government implemented its policy of metering in a massive manner by providing more than 2.5 million meters for homes. The Tinubu government announced recently the creation of GAMCO – the Grid Assets Management Company – which will optimize power supply and active idle facilities.
The introduction of CREDICORP and NELFUND in 2024 is one of the most impactful programs of this administration, aside from the issuance of passports within a week. Credicorp offers loans to government employees to purchase Made-in-Nigeria goods, while NELFUND has committed N282billion to date to make tertiary educational opportunities more affordable for Nigerian children. Around 1.6million Nigerian students are beneficiaries.
The government will pay school fees and stipends to the students. It has renegotiated with ASUU the agreement from 2009, so that our Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education have not been affected by the academic strikes in the past three years.
Give the Tinubu administration some leeway: A four-year program is still a 4-year programme. He made the promise during his campaign, and he has kept it. In addition, the government invested in technical colleges by offering allowances to students who pursue vocational training.
TETFUND has once again funded research grants in universities for those willing to explore ideas useful to society.
In 2024, NELFUND, a programme that will issue passports within a week and CREDICORP are two of the most impactful programs. Credicorp offers loans to government employees for Made-in-Nigeria goods, while NELFUND has committed N282billion in order to make tertiary studies more affordable. Around 1.6 millions students have benefitted. The government ensures that school fees and stipends will be paid, while renegotiating the ASUU/FG 2009 agreement to spare universities the disruption of strikes.
In the colleges, universities and polytechnics, four-year programmes are completed within four years. The technical schools provide allowances for vocational students and TETFUND funds research grants for academics.
The past three years have not been rosy, particularly in terms of securing our citizens from terrorists and bandits. The armed forces are engaged in an asymmetrical conflict against these evil elements.
They have neutralised their leaders and soldiers on several battlefields. Meanwhile, terrorists who fled the country attack vulnerable areas of some states and kill and kidnap people. The government has been unrelenting when it comes to providing intelligence agencies and the police the weapons they need in order to fight the war.
There is hope for the future of the kidnappers, their sponsors, and other criminals with the support of friendly countries like France, the UK and the US. He who took the bullets for Nigeria to survive its fiscal crisis is willing to do it again to ensure that all Nigerians are safe.
Onanuga, Special Advisor to Tinubu for Information and Strategy
