Marking three years in office, President Bola Tinubu defends tough macroeconomic policies, highlighting a skyrocketing stock market and infrastructural expansions across the federation.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has delivered a comprehensive national broadcast to mark the third anniversary of his administration, vigorously defending his signature macroeconomic reforms.
In the official address released on Friday, May 29, 2026, the President stated that the tough policies implemented by his team since May 2023 were absolutely necessary to save Nigeria from an imminent fiscal breakdown.
Reflecting on the state of the nation when he took office, the Commander-in-Chief explained that the country was being choked by unsustainable fuel subsidies, exchange-rate distortions, massive revenue leakages, and declining public confidence in national institutions.
The President provided striking data on the massive scale of the financial drain the country previously endured. He revealed that at the peak of the old energy regime, Nigeria was burning through as much as ₦18.4 billion daily to keep petrol prices artificially low-amounting to over ₦4 trillion in 2022 alone.
He noted that these huge sums were effectively stolen from critical social investments like healthcare, education, housing, and transport infrastructure. Furthermore, Tinubu pointed out that multiple exchange rate windows and forex arbitrage had allowed rent-seeking actors to siphon away more than ₦8 trillion over a three-year period.
The President acknowledged that removing the subsidies caused a sharp rise in the cost of living, putting immense pressure on families and businesses. However, he maintained that choosing long-term national recovery over short-term political comfort has successfully stabilized the economy.
To back up his claims, Tinubu pointed to a booming capital market: the Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index has jumped from 53,000 points and a ₦30 trillion valuation in 2023 to a record 250,000 points and a ₦160 trillion market capitalization in 2026.
“At the height of the subsidy regime, Nigeria was spending as much as ₦18.4 billion daily to sustain petrol subsidies-over ₦4 trillion in 2022 alone-resources that could have been invested in roads, healthcare, education, housing, and critical infrastructure. Had we refused to act, our nation would have drifted toward fiscal breakdown, worsening poverty, and severe economic uncertainty. Together, we chose reform over ruin,” President Bola Tinubu asserted.
The anniversary address outlined several major infrastructure projects advancing across the country. Over 2,700 kilometers of high-volume highways are currently undergoing active construction or rehabilitation, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway.
In the energy sector, the administration’s reforms have attracted billions of dollars in fresh international investments, bringing the $5 billion NLNG Train 7 project near completion.
On social investments, the President highlighted that the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has distributed over ₦282 billion to ensure higher education access for 1.5 million students.
Additionally, the Renewed Hope Housing Programme has delivered 10,000 housing units across 14 states. Looking ahead, Tinubu promised that the next phase of his administration will focus on making the benefits of these reforms felt more directly by ordinary citizens.
This includes expanding Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) conversions to lower transport costs, boosting agricultural corridors to keep food prices down, and continuing aggressive security operations to ensure that every Nigerian can live, travel, and do business in safety.
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