By Henry Umoru
ABUJA — Chairman of the Board of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency, FERMA, Dr Musa Babayo, has described President Bola Tinubu’s willingness to confront structural economic problems previously deferred by successive administrations as one of his most consequential political achievements.
Babayo, in a statement made available to Vanguard titled, “Nigeria’s 4.43% Growth: When Reform Begins to Become Results,” said the latest Gross Domestic Product, GDP, figures suggested that the government’s economic reforms were beginning to produce results.
He, however, cautioned against triumphalism, saying the latest growth figures should be regarded as an opportunity to consolidate the gains and accelerate reforms.
According to him, Nigeria is gradually moving from an era of “expensive consumption and fiscal fragility” towards one of production, investment and opportunity.
“The economy is gradually moving from an era of expensive consumption and fiscal fragility towards one of production, investment and opportunity.
“The productive base is expanding, confidence is gradually returning and the foundations for a more resilient economy are being laid,” he said.
Babayo, a former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, said the 4.43 per cent GDP growth recorded in the second quarter of 2026 was more than an encouraging economic statistic.
He argued that the performance provided an indication that the structural changes being pursued by the Tinubu administration were beginning to reposition the economy.
The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, reported the Q2 2026 GDP figures in its latest GDP report.
Babayo said the significance of the growth figure lay partly in its composition, noting that expansion was not being driven exclusively by the oil sector, while agriculture, services and other productive sectors continued to contribute to economic activity.
“That distinction matters. An economy that grows because it produces more is fundamentally different from one that merely spends more,” he said.
He said the administration inherited an economy characterised by structural distortions, fiscal weaknesses, heavy dependence on oil revenues and an unsustainable subsidy regime.
According to him, the reform response has focused on changing the economic architecture through subsidy reforms, stronger public revenues, improvements in the investment climate, increased capital attraction, expanded production and the redirection of public resources towards infrastructure and development.
Babayo acknowledged that such reforms could generate political difficulties because their costs were often immediate, while their benefits might take longer to become visible.
“Such reforms inevitably produce political discomfort because their costs are immediate while their benefits are often delayed. That is the difficult paradox of structural reform: the pain is visible before the gains become measurable,” he said.
He, however, warned that positive GDP growth alone should not be regarded as sufficient evidence of economic success.
“The real test of the Renewed Hope economic programme is no longer simply whether Nigeria can record positive GDP growth. It is whether that growth can become inclusive, durable and transformative,” Babayo said.
He listed job creation, higher household incomes, lower production costs, greater food security, stronger purchasing power and improved quality of life as key measures of whether the reforms were delivering meaningful benefits to Nigerians.
The FERMA chairman also urged the government to resist the temptation to regard macroeconomic stabilisation as an end in itself.
He called for increased investment in infrastructure, electricity, agriculture, manufacturing, transport and human capital, as well as deeper access to affordable credit.
He further advocated policies that would enable the private sector to become a major driver of employment and wealth creation.
Babayo said the latest GDP performance did not mean that Nigeria had overcome its economic challenges, but suggested that the economy was beginning to gain momentum.
“President Tinubu’s most consequential political achievement may therefore ultimately not be any single policy intervention, but the willingness to confront structural problems that previous administrations repeatedly deferred,” he said.
He added that the government’s immediate responsibility was to “stay the course, improve the execution, protect the vulnerable and ensure that growth becomes prosperity.”
“Nigeria does not merely need an economy that grows. It needs an economy that works for its people,” Babayo said.
Babayo was inaugurated as chairman of the FERMA Governing Board in November 2025 following his confirmation by the Senate.
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