Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has defended President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies, citing the growth of Nigeria’s foreign reserves from about $3bn to over $50bn as evidence of progress under the current administration.
Mutfwang acknowledged the hardship caused by the reforms but urged Nigerians to exercise patience, arguing that Tinubu inherited an economy on the verge of collapse when he assumed office in 2023.
The governor spoke on Monday while inaugurating the All Progressives Congress Campaign Council for the 2027 general elections at the Government House, Rayfield, Jos.
He said the country had faced severe fiscal and structural challenges before Tinubu took over, including difficulties servicing external debts and repatriating foreign airlines’ earnings.
“Where did President Tinubu meet Nigeria in 2023? He met Nigeria tottering on the brink of collapse; Nigeria that could not service its external debts,” Mutfwang said.
He added that some international airlines had suspended operations in Nigeria because they could not repatriate their earnings.
“Our external reserve was down to just a little over $3bn, from the over $40bn it had accumulated for decades. Today, by the grace of God, we have a healthy external reserve of over $50bn,” he said.
The governor maintained that the economic difficulties facing Nigerians should be considered against the challenges inherited by the Tinubu administration.
He also pointed to improved fuel availability and foreign exchange reserves as signs that the reforms were yielding results, urging citizens to give the policies more time.
The inauguration of the campaign council marked the beginning of the APC's mobilisation for the re-election of Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima, as well as Mutfwang, his deputy, Josephine Piyo, and other party candidates in Plateau State.
Making a case for his own re-election, Mutfwang highlighted interventions by his administration to reduce the impact of economic hardship on residents.
They include the introduction of Tin City Metro buses, the revival of rail services within Jos, a 50 per cent reduction in tuition fees at state-owned tertiary institutions and a 300 per cent increase in student allowances.
He also acknowledged the Federal Government's student loan and scholarship programmes, saying they had benefited Plateau indigenes studying in universities.
On security, the governor admitted that challenges persisted but disclosed plans to facilitate the return of internally displaced persons to their ancestral communities.
He said another batch of retrained Operation Rainbow personnel and at least 800 trained forest guards would be deployed to vulnerable areas in the coming weeks.
Mutfwang urged members of the campaign council to focus on grassroots mobilisation, insisting that electoral victories were determined at polling units rather than in urban centres.
“The votes are in the polling unit. They are not in Jos. Everybody can only matter in the locality where you come from,” he said.
He also argued that his administration needed another term to consolidate its projects and programmes.
“There is no government that ends everything. Every government is a relay,” he said.
Earlier, the Director-General of the Mutfwang/Piyo 2027 Governorship Campaign Council, Joseph Ari, promised an issue-based and peaceful campaign.
Ari disclosed that 115 support groups had expressed interest in backing the campaign, alongside assurances of support from traditional rulers, religious leaders, women and youth organisations.
The Plateau APC Chairman, Rufus Bature, described the inauguration as an important step towards strengthening the party's campaign structure.
Ari also urged residents and party supporters to turn out on November 14 for the planned visit of Tinubu, Shettima, APC National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, and other party leaders to the state.
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