The Executive Secretary, National Institute of Cultural Orientation, and also a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), Abiodun Ajiboye, has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is addressing long-ignored national challenges as part of ongoing reforms.
In an interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday, Ajiboye spoke on Tinubu’s third year in office, and argued that the current policies are beginning to correct decades of neglect.
“The situation of Nigeria is like a country that has existed since 1960 and had no direction. In terms of infrastructure, we didn’t have any direction. Some of the infrastructure that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the President of Nigeria, is doing now had been in 1960, some 1983 development plans that subsequent governments were not touching,” he said.
Responding to concerns over worsening living conditions despite economic indicators, Ajiboye insisted that Nigeria’s problems stem from decades of weak planning and inconsistent governance since independence.
“I want to say again that the problems we are facing in Nigeria is a problem we’ve had from the beginning of time. And leadership has failed considerably to address fundamental issues. Leadership of Nigeria since 1960 did not attempt and intend to build a proper society,” he maintained.
Emphasising the need for deeper reforms, the APC chieftain said Nigeria’s political behaviour continues to hinder national progress. He argued that infrastructure development under the current administration is aimed at long-term job creation and economic growth.
“The infrastructure being built today—from Lagos to Calabar, Badagry to Sokoto—these are the things that will generate employment. These are the things that will stimulate the economy,” he said.
Refuting claims that the APC has been in power for too long without measurable results, Ajiboye said governance must be assessed with economic context in mind. He argued that critics ignore key fiscal realities such as currency value changes and budgetary shifts, while pointing to infrastructure spending and rising foreign reserves as evidence of policy progress.
“No. How can you say APC has 10 years in governance? PDP had 16 years in governance. What do we have to show for it. The budget, the defense budget this year, was over 4 trillion—way bigger than the defense budget ever. The foreign reserve the government of President Muhammadu Buhari left was $3.7 billion. By 2026, the foreign reserve has risen to about $50.26 billion US dollars,” he shared.
Defending the government borrowing, Ajiboye said borrowing is a normal aspect of governance and pointed to higher FAAC allocations and regional development funding as signs of improved fiscal strength.
“Borrowing money is not a crime in governance. The state revenue share, FAAC, by March 2022 was 752 billion. By March 2026, it was 2.3 trillion. Regional Development Commission—six geopolitical zones had Regional Development Commission, and each have taken 2.5 trillion Naira. What I’m saying is that it shouldn’t be because of an election then run down a government that is doing well.”
On the issue of insecurity, Ajiboye said Nigeria’s challenges must be understood in a regional context, linking the surge in violence to instability in neighbouring countries following the withdrawal of foreign military presence.
“The francophone countries around us—Niger, Chad, Togo, Senegal—they have disconnected themselves from France. France had military bases around these places. Their disconnection with France, the French military base left. ISIS, ISWAP, all of them, they moved in,” he explained.
He maintained that security forces are actively responding to threats, while stressing that the scale of insurgency requires both domestic and international cooperation to manage effectively.
“The military, at every point in time, they clear these things. What the problem has been is that the rate of insurgency has become so massive, and the only measure we have is to use security agencies or use international relations methodology, like America is helping us,” Ajiboye said.
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