Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of Lagos State, has defended the economic reforms of President Bola Tinubu, saying recent growth, rising foreign reserves and increased remittances indicate that the Nigerian economy is beginning to recover from the pains of the reforms.
Sanwo-Olu, who spoke on Thursday at the seventh Freedom Online Yearly Lecture in Lagos themed 2027 Elections: Economy, Security and Nigeria’s Future, said the 2027 election would be shaped by two major issues, the state of the economy and security, while urging Nigerians to distinguish between campaign rhetoric and verifiable economic data.
Quoting data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the governor said the economy grew by 4.43 percent in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 3.89 percent in the first quarter and 4.23 percent in the corresponding quarter of 2025.
Sanwo-Olu acknowledged that the removal of fuel subsidy had imposed significant pressure on households and businesses but argued that the reform was necessary because resources that could have been deployed to roads, schools and hospitals were being drained through the subsidy regime. “The measure of the reform is not whether it hurts. It is whether it heals,” he said.
The governor said the All Progressives Congress-led administration intended to “stay the course” with the reforms while ensuring that the benefits reached Nigerians who had borne the greatest cost. He also linked the economic outlook directly to the country’s security situation, arguing that poverty and insecurity reinforce each other. “Poverty feeds insecurity. And insecurity struggles the very economy that will cure poverty,” he said.
According to him, a farmer unable to access his farm contributes to food insecurity, while unsafe schools create a new generation of children without adequate education. The governor said security would affect the 2027 election in two ways: the practical ability of candidates and electoral