A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Biodun Ajiboye, has defended President Bola Tinubu‘s economic reforms, asserting that Nigeria’s current economic and social challenges stem from long-standing systemic failures by successive governments.
Naijaonpoint reports that Ajiboye, during an interview with ARISE Television on Tuesday, dismissed criticisms that the Tinubu administration has worsened poverty, unemployment and insecurity.
Ajiboye argued that the country’s economic collapse did not occur overnight, stressing that the scale of Nigeria’s current difficulties reflects years of fiscal mismanagement, including excessive money printing, oil forward-sales and policy distortions inherited by the current administration.
He said, “A country as beautiful as Nigeria does not collapse in a day. Let us trace the history of this collapse by successive governments.
“If as at May 2023 we had printed over ₦30 trillion, what were we expecting to happen afterwards? If people sold oil that was still in the ground and printed money indiscriminately, what did they expect the aftermath to be?”
Ajiboye said the economic reforms introduced by the Tinubu administration were unavoidable, noting that the country was on the verge of total collapse before corrective measures were taken.
He noted, “If the reforms had not come, what do you think would have happened by now? We were heading towards a Sri Lanka-type situation. You cannot clean up that mess in two years. What miracle are you expecting?”
Ajiboye accused opposition figures of hypocrisy, arguing that many of them were part of previous administrations that created the problems now being criticised.
He said, “The mess we are seeing did not start today. Many of those shouting now were prominently part of it. Bring them out one by one and I will tell you the role they played.”
Ajiboye also defended President Tinubu’s frequent foreign trips, saying international engagement is critical to economic recovery and investment inflows.
He added, “You cannot run a country sitting in one place. To run a good economy, you need allies. I was with him in Brazil. I know the strides we took. He is in Abu Dhabi and investments are coming in.”