Former Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji, says President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reforms are beginning to deliver measurable results, citing improvements in key economic indicators, government revenue, infrastructure investment, healthcare and education.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Representatives candidate for the Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal Constituency made the assertion in an article titled “Facts Over Fiction and Fear: Why Tinubu’s Reforms Are Working for Nigeria.”
Orji argued that recent economic reforms have strengthened the country’s fiscal position and laid the foundation for long-term growth, despite the short-term challenges experienced by many Nigerians.
He said improvements in gross domestic product (GDP), debt servicing, government revenue and the fiscal capacity of state and local governments demonstrate the impact of the reforms.
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According to him, Nigeria’s dollar-denominated GDP, which declined to about 253 billion dollars following the foreign exchange adjustment, has rebounded to approximately 377 billion dollars, representing an increase of about 49 per cent from its lowest level.
He noted that, in naira terms, GDP had increased from about ₦314 trillion in 2024 to approximately ₦530 trillion.
“No one pretended these reforms would be painless. They were sold as necessary structural corrections to distortions that built up over decades. The difference now is that government finally acted instead of postponing,” Orji wrote.
On public debt, Orji said Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio stood at about 40 per cent, compared with approximately 85 per cent for South Africa, 80 per cent for Egypt and 75 per cent for Kenya.
He also claimed that Nigeria’s debt-service-to-revenue ratio had declined from nearly 100 per cent in December 2022 to below 60 per cent.
“Debt in itself is not the measure of health. What matters is the size of the economy, revenue capacity, cost of servicing and what the money is used for,” the former Lawmaker stated.
Orji maintained that borrowing under President Tinubu’s administration was being channelled into productive sectors and critical infrastructure, including roads, rail transport, power, healthcare and education.
He described the removal of petrol subsidy as one of the administration’s most significant reforms, arguing that it had increased allocations to states and local governments, enabling greater investment in infrastructure and public services.
The former Speaker also defended the administration’s tax reforms, saying they were designed to protect low-income earners and small businesses while increasing contributions from higher-income individuals and profitable enterprises.
Highlighting developments in healthcare, Orji said more than 3,000 primary healthcare centres had been revitalised, while over 78,000 frontline health workers had received additional training.
He further explained that more than 100 public health facilities had been expanded to provide free caesarean sections for eligible indigent women and that cancer treatment centres had been established in Kubwa, Enugu and Katsina.
In education, the former Lawmaker said the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) had undertaken more than 11,000 projects, including school rehabilitation and the expansion of technical and vocational education.
According to him, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has disbursed more than ₦303 billion to over 1.64 million students across 300 institutions.
“For the first time in a long while, students are not losing a year to strikes. A four-year course is finishing in four years,” he stated.
Orji also highlighted ongoing federal investments in roads, bridges, rail modernisation, power transmission, airport redevelopment and digital connectivity.
While acknowledging that many Nigerians continue to face economic challenges, he argued that inflation was beginning to moderate and that the country had moved beyond the most difficult phase of the economic adjustment process.
He said the reforms should ultimately be assessed based on their impact on government revenue, debt-servicing costs, infrastructure, education and healthcare.
“A mature national conversation should examine outcomes, not slogans,” Orji said.
He maintained that the most difficult phase of the reforms occurred in 2023 and 2024 and that Nigeria is now on a path towards economic recovery.
“History will not remember us for how popular a decision was on the day it was taken. It will remember whether the decision strengthened the nation. Nigerians need facts, not fabrications,” the former Lawmaker concluded.
