President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies have placed genuine strain on many Nigerian households since he took office in 2023, his chief of staff Femi Gbajabiamila admitted on Monday while unveiling the president’s re-election blueprint.
Speaking in Abuja, Gbajabiamila said Tinubu had confronted long-deferred problems, including the fuel subsidy and a distorted foreign exchange system, knowing the immediate costs.
“In 2023, President Bola Tinubu took responsibility for a country facing problems that could no longer be deferred. He confronted the subsidy burden and a distorted foreign exchange system. He chose to begin difficult repairs whose benefits would take time to reach everyone,” Gbajabiamila said.
“Those decisions have now placed real pressure on households. We must speak honestly about that experience because the people living through it deserve to be heard. Nobody should have to pretend that life is easy at the moment.”
He described the government’s task as reducing the fear those decisions have caused for young people and families. “Our mission in government is to make these decisions less frightening for the millions of young people and families across the country,” he added.
Gbajabiamila framed the re-election manifesto as a binding contract with citizens, insisting that hard work should yield a decent life and that public services must be accessible without political favouritism.
“A public hospital, for instance, should never need to know which political party you voted for before treating you,” he said.
He defended the president’s choice to govern as a leader rather than a politician focused on the next election. “The difference between a politician and a leader is that while a politician thinks about the next election, a leader thinks about the next generation. And that is exactly what President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has demonstrated,” Gbajabiamila said.
The chief of staff maintained that leaving the structural problems unaddressed would have further weakened Nigeria’s ability to invest in the future, while the current priority is ensuring reforms deliver tangible improvements in people’s daily lives.
