Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, acknowledged that the administration’s reforms have brought economic strain for Nigerians and said it would be wrong to suggest that people are finding life easy.

Speaking in Abuja at the launch of a blueprint for Tinubu’s re-election bid, Gbajabiamila defended the President’s removal of fuel subsidies and changes to the foreign exchange system.

He said, “In 2023, President Bola Tinubu took responsibility for a country facing problems that could no longer be deferred. He confronted the subsidy burden and a distorted foreign exchange system. He chose to begin difficult repairs whose benefits would take time to reach everyone.

“Those decisions have now placed real pressure on households. We must speak honestly about that experience because the people living through it deserve to be heard. Nobody should have to pretend that life is easy at the moment.

“Our mission in government is to make these decisions less frightening for the millions of young people and families across the country.”

Gbajabiamila described the administration’s manifesto as an agreement linking leaders and the public. He said all Nigerians should have an equitable chance to share in the nation’s prosperity and that public hospitals should provide care without regard to patients’ political affiliations.

“A public hospital, for instance, should never need to know which political party you voted for before treating you. These are the expectations by which this manifesto asks to be judged,” he said.

He maintained that delaying economic reforms would have weakened Nigeria’s capacity to invest in the future.

He added, “The difference between a politician and a leader is that while a politician thinks about the next election, a leader thinks about the next generation. And that is exactly what President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has demonstrated.”

ASA