Tinubu’s Reforms Are Working, Atiku’s Criticism Is ‘Distortion’ – Ex-Abia Speaker Chinedum Orji

Former Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly and APC House of Representatives candidate for Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal Constituency, Rt. Hon. Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji, has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reforms are delivering measurable results, dismissing recent criticisms by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as a “frozen snapshot taken at the hardest moment of reform.”

In an article titled “Facts Over Fiction and Fear: Why Tinubu’s Reforms Are Working for Nigeria,” Orji argued that the administration’s economic reset has produced tangible improvements across key indicators, including GDP, debt servicing, government revenue and fiscal capacity at the subnational level.

He noted that dollar-denominated GDP, which fell to about $253 billion in the immediate aftermath of the exchange-rate reset, has since recovered to approximately $377 billion — a roughly 49 percent increase from the trough. In naira terms, he said GDP had expanded from about ₦314 trillion in 2024 to around ₦530 trillion.

“No one pretended these reforms would be painless. They were sold as necessary structural corrections to distortions that built up over decades, including the years 1999 to 2007 when warnings about subsidy and fiscal leakages were ignored. The difference now is that government finally acted instead of postponing,” Orji wrote.

On debt, the former Speaker said Nigeria’s debt-to-GDP ratio stands at about 40 percent, which he compared with South Africa at 85 percent, Egypt at 80 percent and Kenya at 75 percent. He also noted that the debt-service-to-revenue ratio had fallen from nearly 100 percent in December 2022 to below 60 percent today.

“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,” he stated.

Orji said borrowing under the Tinubu administration is tied to productive sectors and infrastructure, including roads, rail, power, healthcare and education.

He described the removal of the petrol subsidy as one of the administration’s most significant structural reforms, arguing that the policy had become fiscally unsustainable. According to him, the resulting increase in Federation Account allocations has given states and local governments greater fiscal space to invest in roads, schools, hospitals, salaries, pensions and other public services.

He also defended the administration’s tax reforms, saying the design protects people earning ₦1 million and below per annum and small businesses with turnover of ₦100 million and below, while expanding the contribution of higher-income individuals and profitable enterprises.

Orji highlighted progress in healthcare, education and infrastructure as evidence of increased public investment. He said more than 3,000 Primary Healthcare Centres had been revitalised, over 78,000 frontline health workers retrained, and over 100 public facilities expanded to provide free caesarean sections for eligible indigent mothers. He also cited three world-class cancer centres now operational in Kubwa, Enugu and Katsina, alongside additional state-level cancer facilities.

In education, he noted that the Universal Basic Education Commission had embarked on more than 11,000 projects to rehabilitate schools and expand technical and vocational training. He said the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) had 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 wrote.

On infrastructure, Orji pointed to ongoing federal highways, bridges, rail modernisation, power transmission projects, airport redevelopment and digital connectivity as components of the government’s broader economic strategy.

On inflation, Orji acknowledged Nigerians continue to face pressure but said the trajectory shows improvement. He noted inflation fell to 14.4 percent in November 2025, rose to 15.91 percent amid global shocks, and is projected to decline toward 12 percent by year end.

He also challenged claims of an alleged ₦7.98 trillion oil windfall, arguing that crude oil revenue cannot be calculated simply by multiplying prices by production. He said production levels, operating costs, government and company shares, and loan obligations must be considered.

To cushion the adjustment, Orji said the Federal Government has rolled out intervention programmes including cash transfers and community-based initiatives in healthcare, education and social protection.

While acknowledging that Nigeria is not yet where it aspires to be, Orji maintained that important structural distortions have now been confronted.

“Let us be honest. Nigeria is not yet where we aspire to be. But we are also not where we were at the height of subsidy waste, multiple exchange rates, and revenue leakage,” Orji wrote.

He said the ultimate test of the reforms should be stronger revenues, lower debt-service pressure, improved infrastructure, and better access to education and healthcare.

“A mature national conversation should examine outcomes, not slogans,” he stated.

Orji concluded that the most difficult phase of the adjustment occurred in 2023 and 2024 and that Nigeria had now entered a recovery phase.

“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.”