Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has defended President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies, saying his administration inherited a country on the brink of collapse in 2023.
Mutfwang said the economy was so distressed that Nigeria could not service its external debts, businesses struggled to repatriate their earnings, and international airlines were withdrawing from the country because they could not access foreign exchange.
The governor spoke on Monday in Jos during the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress campaign council ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He said Nigeria’s external reserves had fallen to slightly above $3bn before Tinubu assumed office, but had since risen to more than $50bn.
“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; Nigeria that would not even allow businesses outside the country to take their proceeds back home,” Mutfwang said.
He added that some international airlines had suspended operations because they could not repatriate their earnings.
“And that is why some international airlines stopped flying to Nigeria, because they could not get the dollars to take back their money. 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 also defended the removal of fuel queues, recalling the prolonged scarcity that forced motorists to spend days at filling stations during the administration of the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to him, although petrol is now readily available, its high price remains a challenge for Nigerians.
“Today, by the grace of God, we have solved one side of the equation. Today fuel is available. It may not be cheap, but it is available,” he said.
Mutfwang blamed some of the country’s economic difficulties on decisions taken by the previous administration, alleging that Buhari’s government had sold future crude oil production to meet immediate financial obligations.
He said Nigerians were still bearing the consequences of those decisions, adding that the economic situation could not be reversed overnight.
“Part of the problem of the Buhari regime is that they got to a point that they didn’t know what to do, so they sold our future crude. And today we are paying that debt. And so we cannot expect things to simply change overnight,” he said.
The governor expressed confidence that Tinubu would secure victory in Plateau State in the January 16, 2027 presidential election.
He also predicted that residents would renew his own mandate two weeks after the presidential poll.
Mutfwang urged party members to intensify grassroots mobilisation by reaching out to their communities, wards, local government areas and constituencies.
“I want to urge you to go back home. It is time to go back home. Mobilise your own community. Mobilise your ward. Mobilise your local government. Mobilise your constituency,” he said.
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