The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, said President Bola Tinubu has demonstrated the political will to address Nigeria’s long-standing economic challenges through difficult but necessary reforms.
Speaking at his monthly media briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, Wike defended the President’s economic policies, particularly the removal of the petrol subsidy, describing the decision as one of the boldest taken by any Nigerian leader in recent decades.
He said although the reforms had brought temporary hardship to many Nigerians, they had improved the financial position of state governments, increased funding for infrastructure and reduced reliance on bank loans to pay workers’ salaries.
According to Wike, President Tinubu has shown the courage to implement reforms that previous administrations acknowledged were necessary but were unwilling to pursue.
“Asiwaju is the only person we have now. He has not done everything, and nobody says he has, but he has shown the courage to take decisions others refused to take. Give him credit for that,” he said.
The minister noted that Nigeria’s economic challenges had accumulated over many years and could not be resolved within a short period.
“When problems have accumulated for over 15 years, people expect them to be solved in one year. It doesn’t work that way. Healing takes time, but it will happen,” he said.
Wike described the former fuel subsidy regime as unsustainable, recalling that during his tenure as governor, declining allocations often compelled states to borrow from banks to meet salary obligations.
He said the removal of the subsidy had significantly increased allocations to states, enabling many to meet salary and pension obligations while investing more in infrastructure.
“The fuel subsidy consumed over ₦3 trillion at a time. Today, states receive more money. Pensioners are being paid, governors no longer queue before bank managers to borrow money just to pay salaries, and there are more resources for infrastructure,” he said.
The FCT minister maintained that effective leadership requires the courage to take difficult decisions in the national interest, even when such decisions are initially unpopular.
“Everybody agreed that subsidy was a scam, but no president had the political will to remove it. President Tinubu took that decision. No decision is 100 per cent perfect, but leadership is about taking responsibility,” he added.
