2027: Gbajabiamila, Jibrin defend Tinubu’s economic reforms

Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila. Photo: State House

Some chieftains of the All Progressives Congress have defended President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms despite mounting hardship, insisting that the policies have laid the foundation for long-term prosperity and should be allowed to deliver their full benefits.

The President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, and member representing Kiru/Bebeji Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Abdulmumin Jibrin, made the case on Tuesday at the presentation of the APC’s 2027 manifesto, titled From Reforms to Prosperity, in Abuja.

The party leaders urged Nigerians to support the administration’s agenda ahead of the 2027 general elections, arguing that its economic policies and infrastructure investments were beginning to produce results.

Gbajabiamila acknowledged that the removal of petrol subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange system had placed considerable pressure on households but maintained that Tinubu was right to undertake the difficult decisions.

He said, “Now, those decisions have placed real pressure on households. We must speak honestly about that experience, because the people living through it deserve to be heard, and nobody should have to pretend that it’s easy, that life is easy at the moment.”

However, he argued that leaving the previous economic arrangements untouched would have continued to undermine the country’s capacity to invest in its future.

According to him, Tinubu chose to govern as a leader rather than a politician by undertaking reforms whose benefits might not immediately translate into electoral gains.

“The difference between a politician and a leader is that whereas the politician thinks about the next election, a leader thinks about the next generation,” he said.

Gbajabiamila said the administration’s next responsibility was to ensure that the opportunities created by the reforms translated into tangible improvements in Nigerians’ living conditions.

He identified the Nigeria Education Loan Fund, tax reforms and the Electricity Act as some of the policies intended to widen opportunities, reduce financial burdens and improve public services.

The Chief of Staff said the APC manifesto also contained commitments to halve the number of out-of-school children by 2031, install an additional seven million electricity meters and expand health insurance coverage.

He added that the document would require the government to publish targets, identify officials responsible for delivering them and regularly report progress to Nigerians.

“Citizens should be able to see where delivery is succeeding and where it is falling short,” he said.

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Also speaking, Jibrin defended the administration’s infrastructure record, particularly its road and rail projects in Northern Nigeria.

His comments came amid differing views among Nigerians in the region, with some accusing the Tinubu administration of neglecting the North, while others maintain that it has made significant investments there.

Jibrin argued that previous administrations, some of which spent between three and eight years in office, failed to complete major road projects such as the Abuja-Kaduna and Kaduna-Kano highways.

He said the Tinubu administration had completed the Kaduna-Kano Road within three years and was expected to conclude the Abuja-Kaduna Road by November or December 2026.

“My brother here, in the Ministry of Works, also did a fantastic job in terms of infrastructure, particularly if I may be biased towards the northern part of the country, where some people claim we have been shortchanged. That is not true,” he said.

Jibrin also cited the Federal Government’s commitment to the development of the Dawanau agricultural market in Kano State and the completion of the Maradi railway corridor, which he said passes through the market.

“These are all deliberate actions being taken by this administration,” he said.

On fiscal management, Jibrin criticised the handling of Nigeria’s finances over the past 15 years, describing the country’s fiscal space as poorly managed and constrained.

He recalled that the national budget stood between N5tn and N6tn during his time in the National Assembly, arguing that the current administration had expanded the fiscal space.

“Today, courageously and boldly, we have expanded the budget to about N53tn. Yes, we have a deficit, but do not forget that our non-oil revenue, according to the figures I read yesterday from the National Bureau of Statistics, is projected to hit about N33tn,” he said.

He also defended the use of savings from petrol subsidy removal, saying states had received significantly higher allocations from the Federation Account.

“I know very well that a state that used to receive an average of N6bn now goes home with about N40bn or N50bn. Yet, someone is still bound to ask what we are doing with the excess funds from subsidy removal,” he added.