Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Friday defended the administration’s economic reforms, saying his principal “took the bullets” needed to save Nigeria from fiscal collapse.

Onanuga, in an opinion piece titled “Bola Tinubu: the man who took the bullet for Nigeria to survive,” said 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 president, who was sworn into office on May 29, 2023, marks third anniversary on Friday.
Tinubu
President Bola Tinubu. Photo: State House

According to the presidential aide, Tinubu inherited a struggling economy in May 2023, characterised by petrol scarcity, multiple exchange rates, low revenue generation, high debt servicing and an unsustainable fuel subsidy regime.

He said the President’s immediate removal of 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.

The presidential aide 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 cited governors of Kwara, Ebonyi, Enugu and Nasarawa states as publicly acknowledging the benefits of the Federal Government’s policies.
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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 centre for his programmes.

“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 rose from about 53,000 points in May 2023 to about 250,000 points, while market capitalisation increased from N30tn to N160tn.

He said the administration had also embarked on major infrastructure projects, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway, describing them as some of the most ambitious road projects since independence.

The presidential spokesman further highlighted investments in rail transportation, reforms in the oil and gas sector, expansion of student loan schemes through NELFUND, and consumer credit initiatives under CREDICORP.

The administration, Onanuga said had also improved electricity supply through grid upgrades, metering programmes and plans to settle legacy debts owed to generation companies.

He acknowledged that insecurity remained a major challenge, particularly attacks by bandits and terrorists in some parts of the country, but maintained that the government was supporting security agencies with equipment and international cooperation to combat the threats.

Onanuga said historians would remember the Tinubu administration for “historic reforms” and transformative infrastructure projects aimed at repositioning Nigeria’s economy.