Nigerians more confident with Tinubu, says APC spokesman

The All Progressives Congress has defended the economic reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu, saying Nigerians have reasons to be optimistic about the country’s future because of improvements recorded since the administration came into office in 2023.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, the National Publicity Secretary of the ruling party, Felix Morka said the state of the nation had changed significantly under Tinubu’s leadership.

“I think that Nigerians have every reason to feel more confident about their country and, therefore, more hopeful about the future, because the state of affairs in this country as of 2023 compared to today is actually like comparing night and day,” he said.

The APC spokesman argued that key economic indicators inherited by the administration in May 2023 did not reflect the true state of the economy, citing distortions in the foreign exchange market and other sectors.

“As of May 2023, this country was not doing well. All of the fundamental numbers were off.

“From the exchange rates to just basic living, it was all phantom. A lot of it was phantom, and I say ‘phantom’ because it was not real because the distortions in the economy were overwhelming in every facet,” he said.

According to him, comparisons between the current economic situation and that of 2023 should take into account the structural challenges that existed before the reforms.

“So it’s difficult to make that comparison between 2023 and 2025 because a lot of what you had then was unreal, and that’s the distortion that this government keeps talking about,” he said.

Morka maintained that the Tinubu administration had focused on addressing the underlying causes of those distortions, including the removal of fuel subsidy and reforms in the foreign exchange market.

“What this president has done since 2023 is to really tackle the root causes of all of those distortions—whether it was the fuel subsidy or whether it was the crazy arbitrage in the foreign exchange system. None of that was real.

“And so what Nigerians are dealing with today is closer to reality. And when you plan with reality, then you are more likely to actually have outcomes and results that are more realistic, more defensible, and more promising in terms of the future,” he stated.

The APC spokesman also pointed to Nigeria’s foreign reserves and increasing investor interest as evidence that the reforms were yielding results.

“And today, like you said, we’ve gone from 50 billion. That counts for something because the world is taking us more seriously today, which is why you see a lot of investment, new investment coming in, in all the sectors, whether it’s oil and gas or other sectors.

“People are coming in to invest because they have more confidence,” he said.