Poor Nigerians Are Primary Beneficiaries of Tinubu’s Reforms — Presidential Aide

Poor Nigerians Are Primary Beneficiaries of Tinubu’s Reforms — Presidential Aide

Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communication, Daniel Bwala, has said that the poor are the primary beneficiaries of the policies introduced by the Tinubu administration. Bwala made the assertion on Tuesday during an interview on Arise Television’s ‘Prime Time’ programme, where he highlighted several government initiatives aimed at improving the lives of ordinary Nigerians.

According to him, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has provided opportunities for more than one million students from low-income families to pursue higher education. “We talk about over one million beneficiaries of NELFUND. These are not children of the rich. These are children of the poor who, without the intervention, may not be able to achieve their dreams. That is a direct impact on the poor person,” he said.

The presidential aide also pointed to the administration’s Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) initiative, describing it as a programme that has brought relief to many Nigerians through reduced transportation costs. “When we talk about transportation and what the CNG initiative has done, you need to go to the streets and see for yourself. We went to the streets and talked to people, and all they are asking is that there should be more investments in that field,” he added.

On healthcare, Bwala cited government interventions such as free caesarean section services and a 50 per cent subsidy on dialysis treatment, arguing that such measures are targeted at vulnerable Nigerians. “When we talk about healthcare and the caesarean section programme, I was here the other time and talked about the 50 per cent subsidy on dialysis. These are poor people because rich people do not need that. As a matter of fact, most of the rich are abroad,” he said. Bwala maintained that every major policy introduced by the current administration has been designed to directly benefit low-income Nigerians.

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Beyond the figures cited by Bwala, official data from the Federal Government shows that the Nigerian Education Loan Fund has recorded over 1.7 million applications as of March 2026, with more than 1.1 million students confirmed as beneficiaries. Total disbursements have reached ₦206.29 billion, comprising approximately ₦128.84 billion paid directly to institutions for tuition and ₦77.45 billion paid to students as upkeep allowances. The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has described NELFUND as a transformative intervention in the education sector, noting that the scheme has cost the Federal Government over ₦1.1 billion, while over 160,000 youths have also been trained in digital skills. The Acting Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Ilaro, Dr Mikhail Akinde, confirmed that his institution had received about ₦32 million to support approximately 233 students through the programme.

The Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles (Pi-CNG & EV) has been rolled out across more than 28 states, with the Federal Government launching the Northern Corridor of the programme in Kano State on May 14, 2026. Vice President Kashim Shettima, represented at the launch by Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, stated that the transition to CNG and electric mobility is not only an energy policy but also an economic strategy aimed at reducing costs and supporting long-term development. “Transportation costs affect everything — food prices, manufacturing, logistics and the lives of ordinary Nigerians. The President understood that Nigeria could not continue depending entirely on expensive traditional fuel systems while sitting on over 200 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves,” Shettima said. The Executive Chairman of the initiative, Ismaeel Ahmed, disclosed that over $2 billion in investment commitments had been attracted under the programme, with more than 58 refuelling stations supported, thousands of CNG buses and tricycles deployed, and over 7,000 Nigerians trained. Over 300 conversion partners have been onboarded nationwide, including 41 centres in Kano State alone.

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President Tinubu had earlier approved a reduction in the cost of kidney dialysis from ₦50,000 to ₦12,000 per session in federal hospitals across the country. The subsidy is already being implemented in major federal hospitals across the six geopolitical zones, including the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan; Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Lagos; University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Benin; and the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), Maiduguri, among others. According to a report by Radio Nigeria, the subsidised dialysis programme and the Comprehensive Emergency Obstetrics and Newborn Care (CEmONC) , which provides free emergency caesarean sections, have been yielding fruitful results. At the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH) in Bauchi, the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department conducted 755 Caesarean sections paid for by the federal government between January and June 2025. One beneficiary of the free caesarean section service, Asma’u Ibrahim, described the federal government’s initiative as a “lifesaver,” noting that affording a theatre fee of over ₦100,000 had been a major challenge given the country’s economic situation. Kidney failure patients interviewed at the ATBUTH Renal Centre also expressed gratitude for the subsidy, with one patient, Musa Abdullahi Jingir, stating that he now prefers to spend ₦17,000 on transport to access the subsidised service in Bauchi rather than pay ₦50,000 per session in Jos.

Beyond the initiatives highlighted by Bwala, the Federal Government has also expanded its social protection programmes under the Household Prosperity and Empowerment Cash Transfer Programme (HOPE-CT) . The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro, disclosed in a press conference that over 9.2 million households across the nation’s six geopolitical zones have benefited from the initiative, with approximately ₦688 billion disbursed between November 2023 and February 2026. Beneficiaries receive ₦75,000 distributed over three tranches, with the government now targeting an expansion to 15 million vulnerable Nigerians. Notably, 5.3 million women, representing 58.7 per cent of beneficiaries, have so far benefited from the initiative, a move described as a deliberate policy to empower women and improve household well-being.

While defending the administration’s policies, Bwala acknowledged that many Nigerians are yet to feel the full impact of the economic reforms due to the country’s large population and limited resources. He described the process as “slow, steady, and consistent” and urged citizens to manage their expectations. “The answer is simply population and resources. The population is over 230 million. The resources we have, however, the increased revenue is not enough. Growth will have to be slow. But it will be slow, steady, and consistent. That is what we take pride in,” Bwala said. He added that the effect of increased government revenue is already being experienced through increased allocations to states, which has resulted in state-level implementations impacting local communities. “There are states you can point at tangible results dealing with hunger by the provision of food and agricultural materials,” he noted.

The administration’s supporters argue that the reforms were necessary to address long-standing economic problems and place the country on a stronger financial footing. Official data shows that Nigeria’s net foreign-exchange reserves have risen significantly, while the stock market has recorded a nearly fivefold rise. Capital inflows rose by almost 90 per cent in 2025, with foreign portfolio investment carrying much of the increase. As debates over the state of the economy continue, the Presidency maintains that its policies are beginning to produce positive results and that ordinary Nigerians are already benefiting from key intervention programmes. The administration is expected to continue highlighting programmes such as NELFUND, healthcare subsidies, CNG transportation initiatives, cash transfers, and affordable housing as evidence of its commitment to improving the lives of Nigerians, particularly those in lower-income communities.

Poor Nigerians Are Primary Beneficiaries of Tinubu’s Reforms — Presidential Aide