Edo APC Chairman Defends Tinubu’s Reforms, Says Policies Yielding Results

By Orobosa Omo-Ojo

The Edo State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Jarrett Tenebe, has defended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reforms, arguing that the policies are beginning to produce results despite the economic challenges facing Nigerians.

Tenebe, who spoke in an interview with TVC News, said the Tinubu administration was making progress in key sectors, including the economy, security, agriculture, infrastructure and empowerment.

He also cited the massive turnout at the APC presidential campaign rally in Kaduna State as evidence of growing support for the President, describing the crowd as spontaneous rather than organised through payment.

“The crowd was actually massive, and I think the opposition parties were taken by storm. What you are seeing here is organic. It was not something that paid the crowd,” he said.

The Edo APC chairman also pointed to supporters displaying their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) at the rally as an indication of their readiness to participate in the electoral process.

On the economy, Tenebe acknowledged that reforms could be difficult in the short term but maintained that their benefits would become more evident with time.

“When you want to do reforms, it is not easy, especially when you have an economy that is crumbled before he got there. So reforms take time to manifest,” he said.

He argued that economic activities and the experiences of traders and business operators should be considered when evaluating the impact of the administration’s policies.

Tenebe also criticised calls to restore the fuel subsidy, which he attributed to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, questioning how the government would finance such a policy while sustaining the economy.

“For somebody to come and say, after the President has worked, he’s working on reform and he has removed subsidy, and we are seeing the gains that we have had since he came in there, and somebody just come and say he wants to take 360 degrees. It doesn’t work, and it sounds desperate,” he said.

He warned that reversing the subsidy policy could introduce uncertainty into the business environment and urged the country to maintain the reform direction adopted by the Tinubu administration.

On security, Tenebe said reports of farmers returning to their farmlands suggested that efforts to tackle insecurity were beginning to yield results.

“When you talk of security, you can see farmers are saying they are going back to the farm. It showed that, yes, security is being tackled,” he said.

He identified security, agriculture, infrastructure, healthcare and economic empowerment as major issues that would shape the presidential election, urging voters to assess candidates based on their records in public office and their proposed solutions to national challenges.

Tenebe cited Tinubu’s tenure as governor of Lagos State as part of the President’s governance record, while challenging Nigerians to examine the records of other presidential contenders, including Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi.

The APC chairman said his party had intensified grassroots mobilisation across Edo State, adding that a recent statewide tour was aimed at strengthening its structures and communicating its message to voters ahead of the election.

He said the party was advocating issue-based campaigns rather than personal attacks.

“We’ve been doing a tour around the entire state, which we just completed to wire up our base. We were preaching that we want campaigns of issue. We don’t want campaigns of insults,” he said.

Tenebe urged political parties and their candidates to focus on explaining how their policies would address Nigeria’s economic, security and development challenges.

He reiterated his support for Tinubu’s re-election bid, arguing that the President’s experience, economic policies and record in public office should form part of the debate over the country’s leadership.

He called on voters to scrutinise the antecedents and policy proposals of all presidential candidates as the 2027 election approaches.