Tinubu Has Outperformed Every Elected President in Nigeria, APC Spokesman Morka Says

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has made one of its strongest assessments yet of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s record, with the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, declaring that the president has performed better than every democratically elected Nigerian president during their respective terms.

Morka made the statement during an interview with Channels Television on Monday, August 24, 2026, while defending the Tinubu administration’s economic policies and reforms.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has outperformed any president in his first term. He has outperformed any democratically elected president in this country in their terms,” Morka said.

The claim comes as the Tinubu administration enters the final stretch of its first term, with Nigeria’s next presidential election scheduled for January 2027.

Morka: Tinubu inherited an economy in crisis

Morka based his assessment largely on the economic conditions he said Tinubu inherited when he assumed office in May 2023.

According to the APC spokesman, the president took over an economy facing severe structural challenges, which he attributed largely to what he described as years of poor economic management.

He also criticised the 16-year period during which the Peoples Democratic Party controlled the Federal Government between 1999 and 2015.

Morka described former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration as a “stopgap” government that, in his assessment, prevented the country from deteriorating further before Tinubu took over.

The APC spokesman said the Tinubu government subsequently embarked on difficult reforms intended to address longstanding economic distortions.

The reforms behind the APC’s argument

The central pillars of Tinubu’s economic programme have included the removal of the petrol subsidy, changes to the foreign-exchange system, tighter monetary conditions and efforts to increase government revenue.

The reforms initially produced significant economic pain, particularly through higher transport, food and household costs. However, international institutions now acknowledge that they have also improved several aspects of Nigeria’s macroeconomic position.

The International Monetary Fund said in its 2026 Article IV assessment that reforms implemented since 2023 had strengthened macroeconomic stability and resilience. It specifically cited the removal of fuel subsidies, tighter monetary policy, deficit-monetisation reforms and foreign-exchange liberalisation as measures that reduced fiscal vulnerabilities and improved the functioning of the FX market.

The World Bank has similarly said Nigeria’s reforms have contributed to stabilising inflation, increasing revenues and reserves, and improving exchange-rate flexibility. It reported that the economy grew by about 4 percent in 2025, driven largely by services, including ICT, finance and real estate.

But the economic picture remains mixed

While Morka says the reforms have taken Nigeria “out of the woods” at the macroeconomic level, the broader economic picture is more complicated.

Nigeria’s headline inflation fell to 15.43 percent in July 2026, down from 15.91 percent in June, according to the latest National Bureau of Statistics figures. That represents a substantial decline from the 24.94 percent recorded in July 2025.

However, food inflation moved in the opposite direction. Food inflation rose to 20.31 percent year-on-year in July, while the month-on-month food inflation rate reached 5.56 percent.

That distinction is important because lower headline inflation does not mean that prices have fallen. It means prices are increasing at a slower annual rate. For households, the cost of food and other essential goods can therefore remain considerably higher even as the inflation rate declines.

The IMF also cautioned that economic conditions remain difficult for many Nigerians. Its June 2026 assessment estimated poverty at 63 percent and said 27 million Nigerians had faced food insecurity during the autumn of 2025.

Nigeria’s external position has also improved

Another area supporting the government’s argument is Nigeria’s external position.

The country’s gross external reserves climbed above $52.5 billion in July 2026, according to figures attributed to the Central Bank of Nigeria. The level represented a significant improvement from earlier periods of pressure on the country’s foreign-exchange position.

The IMF reported that gross international reserves increased from $40 billion at the end of 2024 to $46 billion at the end of 2025, while net international reserves also strengthened.

These developments suggest that the government’s argument about improved macroeconomic stability is not without supporting evidence.

The bigger question, however, is whether stronger reserves, improved fiscal conditions and greater exchange-rate stability will eventually translate into higher household incomes, cheaper food, more jobs and improved living standards.

Growth has remained positive

Nigeria’s economy has continued to expand despite the disruption caused by the reforms.

The IMF estimated real GDP growth at 4.0 percent in 2025 and projected growth of 4.1 percent in 2026. It expects growth to reach 4.3 percent in 2027.

The World Bank has also described Nigeria’s recent growth as resilient, although it warned that household incomes have not fully recovered and that poverty remains high.

This creates an important distinction in evaluating Tinubu’s performance: macroeconomic stabilisation and improvement in living standards are related, but they are not the same thing.

Why Morka’s statement matters

Morka’s declaration is significant not only because of its sweeping comparison with previous elected presidents, but also because it comes ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election.

Tinubu is seeking another term, meaning the APC will increasingly be required to defend the government’s record against opposition criticism and public concerns over the cost of living.

The president’s economic reforms have therefore become one of the central issues around which his administration’s performance will be judged.

Supporters are likely to point to improved reserves, stronger government revenues, a more functional foreign-exchange market, moderating headline inflation and continued GDP growth.

Critics, meanwhile, are likely to focus on food prices, household purchasing power, poverty, unemployment, insecurity and the broader social impact of the reforms.

Recent reporting has highlighted precisely this tension: reforms have improved confidence among investors and international lenders while imposing substantial short-term costs on many Nigerian households.

What Nigerians should watch next

The coming months will provide a clearer test of the APC’s claims.

Among the most important indicators will be whether inflation continues to moderate, whether food prices stabilise, whether the naira maintains greater stability, and whether economic growth begins translating more visibly into jobs and stronger household purchasing power.

The government’s ability to sustain fiscal discipline while expanding social protection will also be important. The IMF has called for continued reforms alongside stronger protection for vulnerable Nigerians, including adequate funding for cash-transfer programmes.

Ultimately, Morka’s statement is a political assessment rather than an independently established ranking of Nigerian presidents. There is no single universally accepted metric for determining which elected president has performed best.

What can be measured, however, are the economic indicators surrounding the Tinubu presidency. Those indicators show a country that has achieved notable improvements in some areas of macroeconomic stability while continuing to face serious challenges in living costs, poverty and food security.

As the 2027 election approaches, the debate will increasingly shift from whether Tinubu’s reforms have changed Nigeria’s economic direction to whether ordinary Nigerians believe those changes have improved their lives.

Source: Statement by APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka during a Channels Television interview, alongside economic data and assessments from the IMF, World Bank, NBS and CBN.