Chief of Staff to the President and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has described President Bola Tinubu’s removal of fuel subsidy as “an act of extraordinary statesmanship”, a decision he insisted was driven by long-term national interest, not electoral calculations.
Gbajabiamila made the remark at the 2025 Southern Summit of Former Legislators held in Abeokuta, Ogun State, where political heavyweights, including former Senate President Ken Nnamani, ex-Speakers Yakubu Dogara and Patricia Etteh, as well as Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, gathered under the theme: “National Unity: Bedrock of Nation Building.”
According to him, Tinubu’s reforms; from abolishing subsidy to pushing through tax changes and creating the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), marked a turning point for Nigeria.
“Every Nigerian child today is guaranteed a tertiary education courtesy of NELFUND. With the new tax laws, President Tinubu has ushered in an era of economic justice built on fairness, accountability, and national purpose. These are not the actions of a politician thinking about the next election,” he said.
Gbajabiamila admitted that the reforms have come with hardship but urged patience: “Fixing what has long been broken imposes costs, entails sacrifice and takes time.”
Dogara, in his own remarks, warned against what he called “pretenders” who thrive on “vengeance, distraction and power,” urging Nigerians to focus on unity rather than division.
The summit also carried clear political undertones. In a communiqué read by former lawmaker Samson Osagie, the forum formally adopted President Tinubu as the sole candidate of the South for the 2027 presidential election.
The News Chronicle reports that the document lauded lawmakers for backing the South to complete its turn in power, declaring:
“We posit that it is in the best interest of the South and the Nation that the incumbent, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, completes the tenure of the South. Accordingly, we adopt him as the Sole Candidate of the South.”
Governor Abiodun echoed the sentiment, describing former lawmakers as “custodians of the nation’s democratic journey” and stressing that Tinubu should be allowed to complete two terms in office.
The communiqué further pledged Southern support for a Northern presidency in 2031, framing the deal as a pact for equity, fairness, and national unity.
