Senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District, Ede Dafinone, has warned that replacing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration in 2027 could set Nigeria back several years, arguing that a new government and economic team would require considerable time to understand the system, formulate policies and begin implementing another reform programme.
Dafinone, speaking during an interview on CrownFM over the weekend, said Nigeria was already in the middle of far-reaching economic and institutional reforms and could not afford the disruption that, in his view, could accompany an entirely new administration.
‘Any opportunity to change the leadership of the country means that we could go backwards and start all over again, possibly with a fresh team of people at the helm of affairs of Nigeria learning the ropes all over again,’ he said.
‘It could take us back another three or four years before they begin to do anything that will move the country forward. We need the President to continue in a second term in order to consolidate these reforms.’
The senator argued that Tinubu’s experience and familiarity with the reform process placed him in a position to continue implementing the policies his administration initiated after assuming office in May 2023.
‘The President is somebody who has the experience, the skills, the political know-how, the political network and the technical understanding required to reform the Nigerian economy,’ Dafinone said.
‘He is working on it and he is making progress. We need to give him more time to complete the reforms. He has taken bold decisions to reform the country, and there are still many more reforms to come. He is taking them one by one.’
Dafinone identified the removal of petrol subsidy, foreign exchange reforms, changes to local government financing and the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, among measures undertaken by the administration. He also pointed to the ongoing push for state police as part of the broader institutional reform agenda.
‘The President has made some very bold reforms to the Nigerian economy that are intended to bring development to Nigerians, and some are already beginning to yield results,’ he said.
‘Just to mention a few: the removal of fuel subsidy, reforms in local government financing, reforms in the foreign exchange system and NELFUND. These are reforms that the President has embarked upon in his first three years, and he is still working.’
The lawmaker also argued that improving investor interest in Nigeria was an indication that some of the administration’s economic measures were beginning to gain international attention, saying foreign investors were increasingly looking at opportunities in the country.
On the economic hardship confronting Nigerians, Dafinone acknowledged that households were under severe pressure but said Nigeria’s difficulties should also be considered against wider global economic disruptions since the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent geopolitical conflicts.
‘The hardship Nigerians are facing must also be understood within the context of what has happened globally, beginning with COVID, when much of the world shut down, followed by the war in Ukraine and other conflicts,’ he said.
‘We are in a global village, and the impact of what happens in other parts of the world reflects on us as well. But our President is working. The reforms that he has put in place are yielding fruit and will continue to yield fruit.’
Dafinone maintained that continuity rather than another change of direction would, in his assessment, give Nigeria a better opportunity to consolidate the reforms already underway.
‘My advice to Nigerians is to appreciate that there is hardship, but President Tinubu knows what he is doing and he is getting the job done,’ he said.
‘We need to give him more time to complete the reforms. Changing the team midway means starting another learning and policy process all over again when the country should be consolidating the gains of the reforms already underway.’
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