Information minister Mohammed Idris says every Nigerian is benefiting from the reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu to reposition the country for national prosperity.

Mr Idris stated this on Tuesday in Abuja, during the Media Pre-Sensitisation, ahead of the official inauguration of the All Progressives Congress Manifesto for the 2027 Presidential Election.

The minister said the administration had laid a solid foundation for economic transformation, adding that the country was progressively moving towards an era of prosperity.

He said, “When people say that reforms are working, but we don’t know who is benefiting, I say every Nigerian is benefiting.”

Mr Idris explained that the reforms were designed to improve the welfare of Nigerians irrespective of their political affiliations, social status or economic backgrounds.

According to him, the administration’s commitment to infrastructure development demonstrates that the benefits of government policies are accessible to all citizens.

He cited the ongoing reconstruction of the Abuja-Kano road as an example, stressing that nobody would be required to belong to the APC or be wealthy before using the road.

“Nobody needs to show his identification card that he belongs to the APC or is a rich man or belongs to a particular class before he plies it,” Mr Idris said.

The minister also highlighted improvements in security, particularly along the Abuja-Kaduna highway, which he said had witnessed significant changes compared with previous years.

He stated that motorists previously had to make enquiries about the presence of bandits and kidnappers before travelling between Abuja and Kaduna.

“Today, nobody asks this question. You take your car from here to Kano, and nobody asks whether the terrorists, bandits or kidnappers are there,” he said.

Mr Idris further identified the Nigerian Education Loan Fund as another example of the administration’s commitment to making its reforms beneficial to ordinary Nigerians. He said about 1.6 million young Nigerians had benefited from the initiative, which provides financial assistance to students whose parents or guardians could not afford their higher education expenses.

According to him, the initiative ensures that financial constraints do not prevent qualified young Nigerians from pursuing tertiary education.

“What Tinubu is saying is that there is no reason why any young man or woman who has the credentials to go to school should be unable to do so simply because of the inability of their parents or guardians to pay,” he said.

The minister added that the programme was accessible without discrimination along political lines or family background. He also pointed to Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list as evidence of growing international confidence in the country’s economic reforms.

Mr Idris said the development had strengthened Nigeria’s ability to engage in international business without the additional scrutiny associated with its previous grey-list status. He added that international credit rating agencies, including Fitch, Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s, had improved their assessments of Nigeria’s economic outlook.

According to him, core inflation, including headline inflation and food inflation, is declining, while the country’s gross domestic product is recording growth.

He said Mr Tinubu’s administration had addressed the challenge by assuring investors that funds could be repatriated through legitimate channels. The minister, however, acknowledged that the country had yet to achieve its desired economic targets, but maintained that the reforms were gradually producing positive results.

(NAN)