Abuja, Nigeria — The Nigerian government has strongly defended its controversial economic and social reforms ahead of the country’s Democracy Day celebrations, insisting the economy is on a clear path to recovery despite widespread public hardship.
Addressing journalists in the capital, Abuja, on Tuesday, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, acknowledged that inflation and insecurity continue to distress citizens but maintained that the administration’s policies are yielding tangible results.
The robust defence of the government’s record comes as political parties sharpen their strategies ahead of the 2027 general elections, where Mr. Akume confirmed the ruling administration will aggressively seek “a revalidation of our mandate” from the electorate.
According to government figures presented at the briefing, Nigeria’s real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.07% in the final quarter of 2025 and 3.89% in the first quarter of 2026.
“The government will never claim that every challenge has been solved,” Mr. Akume said. “Inflation has been painful, though it is on a downward trend. Insecurity still threatens lives and livelihoods, but evidence shows that the country is moving in the right direction.”
To counter widespread public criticism over the rising cost of living, the government highlighted several multi-billion-naira social intervention programmes financed, in part, by recovered stolen assets.
Official data indicates that the state-run student loan scheme, NELFUND, has supported over one million students with 184 billion naira (£93m) for tuition and upkeep. This fund was recently bolstered by the injection of 50 billion naira in seized criminal proceeds.
Furthermore, the government stated that over three million vulnerable households have received support through conditional cash transfers, while a newly established consumer credit corporation has disbursed 37 billion naira in loans to first-time borrowers.
On international financial reforms, Mr. Akume pointed to Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) money-laundering grey list late last year as proof that institutional anti-corruption mechanisms are working.
Addressing the country’s persistent security crises, including terrorism and banditry, the government stated that heavy investments in military hardware and regional intelligence sharing are beginning to sharpen the state’s response, though it urged citizens to remain vigilant.
Nigeria is marking 27 years of uninterrupted civilian rule since the return to democracy in 1999—one of the longest unbroken democratic stretches on the African continent.
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