….Assures Nigerians On Improved Power Supply, Healthcare System
President Bola Tinubu on Friday told millions of Nigerians and the global community that ongoing reforms being embarked on by his administration were aimed at restoring stability to the nation’s economy and credibility for its sustainable growth and improved wellbeing of the citizenry.
In his 2026 Democracy Day speech, the President explained that the administration’s primary agenda was to secure economic freedom for ordinary Nigerians as a way of honouring the heroes of June 12, 1993, who secured political freedom for the people.
According to him, the goodies of democracy must be felt in the quality of people’s lives, particularly in creating opportunities for youths, in prosperous farmers, successful entrepreneurs, and the dignity of workers in the country, among others.
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The President said that the ongoing reforms were not chosen for ease, but for necessity, recalling that before he assumed office, the nation’s public finances were under severe strain, investment was at the lowest ebb even as economic uncertainty remained a threat to the future of ordinary Nigerians and the country.
Tinubu clarified: “We chose to act, embracing reforms to advance Nigeria’s economic freedom.
“Since 2023, our reforms have restored stability and credibility to economic management. Federation revenues have risen, providing states and local governments with more resources for infrastructure, education, healthcare, and security. Fiscal transparency has improved, leakage has been reduced, and public funds are better directed to national priorities. Investor confidence has returned, with investments in agriculture, energy, manufacturing, technology, mining, transportation, and the creative industries growing”, he added.
Noting that there has been improvement in the domestic refining capacity due to the reforms in the hydrocarbon resources industry, the President maintained that this had helped in strengthening energy security and reducing Nigeria’s over-dependence on imported petroleum products.
Similarly, Tinubu noted that by 2023, the electricity sector was characterized by power generation and distribution challenges such that power supply was hampered by metering deficit of over four million and other constraints and distribution companies (DisCos) were contending with huge losses.
The President lamented that worst of all, the value chain was drowning in legacy debt and that the result was a sector that generated less than the 13,500 Megawatts installed capacity, a sector that transmitted less than it generated, distributed less than it transmitted and collected revenue far below what it needed to sustain itself.
Tinubu said one of the key reforms steps taken by his administration to frontally tackle the the problems in the electricity sector was the enactment of the Electricity Act, which granted states authority to generate, transmit, and distribute power.
He disclosed that the Presidential Power Sector Task Force was working hard to reduce the metering deficit and that it had been given the authority to raise N4 trillion bond to settle verified legacy debts.
In addition, Tinubu noted that the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), supported by the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB), had deployed off-grid and mini-grid power to underserved communities, universities, markets, and hospitals.
He assured: “Electricity is a democratic dividend we owe every Nigerian. We intend to deliver it.”
The President also spoke on the successes being recorded on the administration’s infrastructure projects nationwide, particularly on road networks, which are connecting producers to markets and creating opportunities for businesses and creating jobs.
To consolidate on the agriculture sector’s achievements, he disclosed that the National Agricultural Development Fund will be deploying 10,000 tractors over five years and that over 1,000 SMEs had been certified for exportation of their products.
The President noted that non-oil exports grew by 21 per cent in 2025, however, admitted that many Nigerians were still contending with economic hardship due to the administration’s fiscal reforms.
He promised that efforts were being intensified towards reducing inflation, boosting food production, creating jobs, improving living standards of ordinary Nigerians, and creating conditions for sustainable prosperity of all in the years ahead.
