2027 Election: Presidency Reacts Strongly As Int'l News Publication Says Nigerians Dislike Tinubu
- Sunday Dare, Special Adviser on Media, pushed back against commentary by The Economist on Tuesday, October 6
- Dare accused some foreign publications of viewing Nigeria through a distorted lens and ignoring the conditions President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inherited
- The presidency pointed to NELFUND, minimum wage increases, forex reforms and subsidy removal as evidence of progress
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Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over eight years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international issues.
FCT, Abuja - Ahead of the 2027 elections, the presidency has rejected claims that a large number of Nigerians are opposed to President Bola Tinubu, saying such characterisations ignore the scale and scope of reforms the administration has carried out since taking office.
Sunday Dare, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, made the position known in a statement posted on his verified X (formerly Twitter) page on Tuesday night, October 6. Dare was responding to commentary by The Economist, which he said claimed Nigerians dislike the president.
Source: Facebook
He accused certain foreign publications of analysing Nigeria through a “cracked, distorted lens.”
Dare said such reports focus on economic difficulties while failing to account for what the Tinubu administration inherited when it came to power in May 2023.
Presidency defends Tinubu’s 'reform agenda'
"President Tinubu did not inherit a functioning, well-oiled state; he inherited a broken economic ecosystem on the precipice of total sovereign bankruptcy," Dare said.
He argued that the administration took over an economy weighed down by the petrol subsidy regime, multiple foreign exchange windows, high debt-service costs, and years of underinvestment across critical sectors. Dare said these conditions made some level of transitional hardship unavoidable during the reform process.
Defending the removal of the fuel subsidy, Dare said the decision stopped a significant drain on public funds and allowed money to be redirected towards development priorities and fiscal sustainability. He also cited the rationalisation of the foreign exchange market as having reduced systemic arbitrage, attracted foreign portfolio investment, and contributed to improved trade surpluses and external reserves.
Presidency rejects claims Nigerians hate Tinubu
Beyond the macroeconomic changes, Dare pointed to a range of social and structural interventions. He said the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) had helped hundreds of thousands of students from low-income backgrounds access higher education without paying tuition upfront.
He also highlighted the increase in the national minimum wage, the push for financial autonomy for local governments, the deployment of Compressed Natural Gas buses, and the distribution of palliatives as measures aimed at softening the economic strain on ordinary Nigerians. On agriculture, Dare said the government's distribution of fertilisers, agro-loans and farming equipment including tractors was building a foundation for stronger food production and rural development.
Dare directly challenged the suggestion that millions of Nigerians oppose the president, arguing that citizens benefiting from the administration's programmes could not be described as people who "hate" him.
"The notion that millions of Nigerians harbour blind hatred for President Tinubu collapses when you meet everyday reality," he said.
He acknowledged that Nigeria continues to face security challenges and global economic pressures but said attempts by outside commentators to reduce the country to a story of "helpless misery" were unfair. Dare described the narrative of widespread presidential rejection as a "hollow illusion," and maintained that Tinubu's reforms had put Nigeria on an "irreversible path" towards sustainable growth and fiscal independence.
Read the presidency’s full rebuttal to The Economist in the X post below:
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ChatGPT predicts winner of 2027 election
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that ChatGPT predicted that the All Progressives Congress (APC) would likely win Nigeria's 2027 presidential election, using the Four Horsemen framework.
It cited the opposition coalition but said the APC had the edge due to possible low voter turnout and the Tinubu administration's efforts to stabilise the economy.
Source: Legit.ng
