President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has placed his administration’s economic reforms at the centre of the political conversation as Nigeria’s presidential campaign for the 2027 election officially commenced on Wednesday, August 19, challenging Nigerians to examine both the gains and costs of the policies introduced since 2023.
In a message to Nigerians, Tinubu unveiled what he described as the “Reforms Scorecard”, an account of what his government’s economic overhaul has achieved, what it has cost citizens and the greater economic damage it believes was avoided by taking difficult decisions early in the administration.
“When we began this journey of reform in 2023, I promised that the difficult decisions we were making would serve the purpose of building an economy that works better for you and a country that is stronger for our children,” the President said.
Tinubu’s message comes at a politically significant moment. With campaigns for the presidential and National Assembly elections officially opening today under the Independent National Electoral Commission’s timetable, the President’s decision to foreground his economic record gives the reform agenda a potentially defining role in his bid for another term.
Rather than presenting the reforms simply as government achievements, Tinubu said Nigerians deserved a transparent account of the numbers behind the decisions, their consequences and the work still left undone.
“I have therefore directed the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, to give an account to Nigerians, to explain the numbers, the choices we have made, the progress recorded, and the work that remains,” he said.
Oyedele subsequently presented the government’s Reform Scorecard, outlining the administration’s argument that the removal of petrol subsidy and foreign-exchange reforms have generated substantial additional resources for the federation.
Government figures put the combined resources generated between June 2023 and December 2025 at ₦15.8 trillion.
According to the Federal Government, part of those additional resources has gone into workers’ wages, debt servicing and infrastructure, with reported spending of about ₦9.39 trillion on wages, ₦9.37 trillion on debt and ₦6.5 trillion on infrastructure.
Yet the scorecard also arrives against a backdrop of a difficult economic reality for millions of Nigerians.
While the reforms have improved some fiscal and macroeconomic indicators and strengthened investor confidence, government officials have acknowledged that the benefits have not yet fully translated into improved household welfare.
That tension could become one of the biggest issues of the 2027 campaign: whether improvements in government finances and macroeconomic stability are translating quickly and meaningfully enough into cheaper living costs, stronger purchasing power, jobs and better conditions for families and businesses.
Tinubu’s administration has consistently defended the reforms as necessary measures to prevent a deeper economic crisis, while critics argue that ordinary Nigerians have borne too much of the immediate burden.
Reuters reported on Wednesday that Oyedele said the reforms helped avert a potential economic collapse, citing the end of the fuel subsidy and naira devaluation as key measures that helped stabilise public finances, strengthen foreign reserves and attract investment.
At the same time, the report noted that the policies intensified the cost-of-living crisis in the short term.
For Tinubu, therefore, the Reform Scorecard is more than an economic presentation. Coming on the very day the 2027 presidential contest formally enters the campaign phase, it provides the administration with a platform to make its strongest case yet that painful policies were necessary investments in Nigeria’s future.
“You deserve to see the numbers. You deserve to know what has changed and what these reforms mean for you, your family, your business and our country,” the President told Nigerians.
His closing message was deliberately direct: “This is your government. This is your country. This is our account to you.”
The timing could hardly be more consequential. Tinubu is seeking re-election amid persistent public concerns over living costs and security, while opposition figures including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi are positioning themselves as alternatives.
Reuters described the election as a major test of whether Tinubu’s reform narrative can overcome widespread dissatisfaction with economic hardship.
Political parties and presidential candidates also entered the campaign season after signing a National Peace Accord pledging issue-based campaigns and rejecting violence, hate speech, misinformation and personal attacks.
With the campaign now officially underway, the battle for 2027 is therefore set to be fought not only on political alliances, personalities and promises, but increasingly on competing interpretations of Nigeria’s economic reality.
For Tinubu, the message is clear: the reforms must now be judged against what his administration says they have saved, delivered and set in motion — and, ultimately, against what Nigerians feel in their pockets.
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