Nigeria’s government has launched a regional sensitisation drive to showcase President Bola Tinubu’s two-year record in office, with officials pointing to new infrastructure, agricultural support and social welfare schemes as evidence of progress.
The campaign, titled “Tinubu Administration’s Mid-Term Report”, was inaugurated in Port Harcourt on Tuesday by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, represented by senior official Gabriel Obokuru.
Idris said the exercise was designed to “acquaint Nigerians in the South-South with government policies and programmes” and encourage citizens to take advantage of available opportunities rather than focus solely on criticism.
Highlighting government interventions, Dr Helen Nsirim of the Information Ministry said ₦500 million had been channelled to almost 1,800 farmers in Edo State through the LIFE-ND scheme, which is co-financed by the Federal Government, IFAD and the Niger Delta Development Commission. The programme also operates in Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Imo, Ondo and Rivers states.
Other measures include the rollout of a national student loan scheme, a three-million digital skills initiative, a social housing programme and support for micro-enterprises through the Bank of Industry. Major infrastructure projects such as the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway are also under way.
Nsirim urged residents to register for schemes including conditional cash transfers, housing support and education loans, describing them as “opportunities to transform lives and communities”.
At a panel session, Rivers State University’s NELFUND officer, Prof Sunny Orike, voiced concern at the limited number of applicants for the student loan. He stressed that the scheme is interest-free and open to all students in public universities and polytechnics, with repayment beginning two years after graduation and employment.
