Ex-Abia speaker, Chinedum Orji, backs Tinubu’s economic reforms

Former Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly and All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Representatives candidate for Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal Constituency, Rt. Hon. Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji has thrown his weight behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reforms.

He described President Tinubu’s reforms as a historic restructuring of Nigeria designed to lay the foundation for long-term national growth. 

In an article titled “The Great Recalibration: How President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Is Restructuring Nigeria for a Stronger Tomorrow,” Orji argued that the administration inherited structural economic distortions requiring bold, difficult decisions rather than temporary fixes.

According to him, President Tinubu’s declaration on his inauguration day that “Fuel subsidy is gone” was more than a policy announcement.

“In that single sentence, he signalled that the era of deferring hard choices had ended,” Orji wrote.

He described the removal of fuel and electricity subsidies as the first step in restoring fiscal discipline, arguing that the reforms have reduced pressure on government finances and significantly increased revenue available for infrastructure, social programmes and economic development.

The former Speaker said the administration’s economic agenda goes beyond subsidy removal, insisting that Nigeria is undergoing what he termed a “great recalibration” of its economic and governance systems. 

He cited the unification of the foreign exchange market and the clearance of the foreign exchange backlog. He also pointed to renewed investor confidence, increased oil and gas investments, improved domestic refining capacity and stronger capital market performance as evidence that the reforms are beginning to produce positive results.

Orji also highlighted the establishment of the Presidential Petroleum Reform and Value Optimisation Taskforce, the Nigeria Industrial Policy, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and the expansion of the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) programme as major initiatives aimed at diversifying the economy and creating jobs.

On governance, he said the Renewed Hope Ward Development Plan would decentralise development planning by identifying the economic potential of Nigeria’s 8,809 wards and strengthening grassroots participation in governance.

He further credited the administration with intensifying security operations against insurgency and banditry while pursuing renewed engagement with Ogoni communities as part of efforts to revive economic activities in the Niger Delta.

While acknowledging the economic hardship experienced by many Nigerians, Orji argued that painful reforms are sometimes unavoidable.

“Critics are right to point out the hardship. The cost-of-living squeeze has been severe, and inflation remains a challenge. But restructuring is not magic. It is medicine, and medicine often tastes bitter before it heals,” he stated.

The APC chieftain also argued that previous administrations had discussed similar reforms for years without implementing them.

“Previous administrations discussed these reforms for decades. President Tinubu chose to act in the first week, knowing the  political cost, because the economic cost of delay was higher,” he wrote.

He cited assessments by international institutions, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which he said have acknowledged improvements in Nigeria’s macroeconomic stability in recent reports, while emphasising that the true measure of the reforms would be their ability to create jobs and improve Nigerians’ standard of living. 

Orji concluded that the Tinubu administration should ultimately be judged by the long-term impact of its policies rather than the short-term pain associated with the reforms.

“History will judge this period not by the pain of the transition, but by whether we used the pain to build something durable,” he wrote.

However, he said President Tinubu’s reforms represent a fundamental restructuring of Nigeria’s economy and institutions, and expressed confidence that they would leave the country stronger, more competitive and better positioned for sustainable development.