‘He’s taking bold initiatives most leaders avoided’ — Ex-Obidient organiser backs Tinubu’s reforms

Marcel Ngogbehei, a former chairperson of the Coalition for Peter Obi (CPO), says President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms are necessary to put Nigeria on a path to sustainable growth.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday in Abuja, Ngogbehei, a former organiser of the Obidient Movement who worked with the Labour Party (LP) during the 2023 electioneering, said Tinubu’s reforms aim to ensure Nigeria’s long-term economic stability.

Ngogbehei, who was recently appointed as the director-general of the Tinubu Movement for Sustainable Governance Foundation (TMS), asked Nigerians to scrutinise the reforms through an objective assessment of the country’s economic realities, rather than letting political allegiances cloud their judgment.

“We are not defending Tinubu as a person. We are looking at the initiatives his government is taking and asking ourselves whether, based on the circumstances in which he got into power, they are the right moves or the wrong moves,” he said.

“If you say they are the wrong moves, if you were there, what would you do differently? If you say it’s the right moves, then why antagonise him? He’s bold enough to take initiatives that most leaders have run away from.”

Ngogbehei said the press conference was designed to foster a candid, evidence-based national conversation about the economic conditions inherited by the Tinubu administration, the interventions introduced to address them, and the short- and long-term implications of those measures for Nigerians.

He said removing petrol subsidies and curbing monetary excesses required political courage, even if the consequences were immediately painful for citizens.

“For once, I call upon Nigerians to come; let’s have this discussion openly, transparently. Let’s have sincere, honest and factual analysis of what he met, what he has done, the short-term impact, and what the possible long-term implication is for the country,” he said.

Also speaking, Ibrahim Uba, TMS national director of mobilisation and data management, said the organisation was committed to raising public awareness of government programmes and projects intended to deliver lasting socioeconomic benefits.

Uba pointed to gross domestic product and other economic indicators as evidence of progress, rejecting suggestions that the administration had abandoned Nigerians following the removal of the petrol subsidy.

He said the government had initiated interventions to moderate food prices and deployed military equipment to strengthen operations against insecurity.

The TMS director also cited ongoing road construction projects across several states as evidence of the government’s infrastructure development agenda.

Uba said the group would sustain its nationwide public enlightenment campaign on the administration’s reforms, calling on Nigerians, regardless of political affiliation, to join constructive discussions about the country’s development trajectory. (TheCable)