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.
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.
