President Bola Tinubu has challenged Nigerians to assess his administration based on its performance rather than campaign promises ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
He urged opposition politicians seeking to replace him to present their records on pension protection and workers’ welfare.
Tinubu spoke on Tuesday at the Presidential Pension Security Initiatives launch at the State House, Abuja. Senate President Godswill Akpabio represented him at the event.
The President used the occasion to highlight his administration’s pension reforms, including the introduction of a ₦52,500 monthly minimum pension guarantee for 173,209 eligible retirees.
“Please judge me by my record in this election,” Tinubu said.
Tinubu Challenges Opposition to Present Their Records
The President questioned what opposition politicians achieved for Nigerian pensioners while holding public office.
He specifically challenged former governors and a former vice-president to explain their contributions to retirement security.
“Do not listen to what they promise. Promises are free. Look at what they did when they were in power in the past,” he said.
Tinubu asked three questions about their previous records: which retirees they guaranteed minimum pensions, which pensioners they insured and what protection they established for workers after retirement.
He also recalled his tenure as Lagos State governor, saying the state continued to grow despite the withholding of local government allocations at the time.
Tinubu Defends Fuel Subsidy Removal and Economic Reforms
Tinubu defended his decision to remove petrol subsidy and unify the foreign exchange market in 2023.
He described the policies as difficult decisions taken in the national interest.
“I said three words that no President before me had dared to say: subsidy is gone. They said those three words would finish me. I said them anyway, because a leader who is afraid of the truth has no business asking for your mandate,” he stated.
The President argued that subsidy savings had been redirected to state governments and ordinary Nigerians.
Citing the World Bank’s October 2026 report, he said state revenues increased by 93 per cent in real terms between 2023 and 2025.
He also said the share of state budgets allocated to capital projects rose from 46 per cent to 61 per cent during the period.
According to Tinubu, state governments have used increased revenue to settle more than ₦1 trillion in outstanding pension obligations.
President Highlights Credit Support for Nigerians
Tinubu also highlighted government-backed credit programmes as part of his administration’s economic interventions.
He said the National Credit Guarantee Company had unlocked ₦64 billion in loans for more than 174,000 borrowers.
He added that the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation had provided ₦53 billion in credit to over 350,000 Nigerians across all 774 local government areas.
The President said nearly 60 per cent of the beneficiaries under the consumer credit programme were women.
New Pension Guarantee Covers 173,209 Retirees
The President’s remarks came as his administration commenced a minimum pension guarantee of ₦52,500 monthly for 173,209 eligible retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme.
The provision had existed in the Pension Reform Act since 2004 but remained unimplemented for more than two decades.
Director-General of the National Pension Commission, Omolola Oloworaran, said the new minimum had received actuarial validation and was backed by more than ₦400 billion in the Pension Protection Fund.
She said eligible retirees earning below ₦52,500 would receive an increase to the new minimum threshold.
The initiative also includes PenCare, a pension industry-funded healthcare programme. It will provide essential medical services free of charge to eligible low-income retirees.
Oloworaran said the pension industry had begun distributing healthcare access cards through a pilot programme.
She also disclosed that the commission was working with state governments to bring more retirees into the pension protection arrangement.
Tinubu urged future administrations to sustain the minimum pension guarantee and strengthen retirement protection.
The pension initiatives now form part of the administration’s record as the President prepares to seek another term in 2027.
