By Julius Peter, Abuja
The Director-General of the National Coalition of Tinubu Support Groups (NCTSG), Dr. Doyin Johnson, has declared that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is laying a solid foundation for Nigeria and deserves to continue in office to consolidate the reforms of his administration.
Johnson, who is also a member of the Governing Council of the Federal University of Agriculture, Basambiri, Bayelsa State, made the remarks at the NCTSG National Conference Forum of Governing Council Members of Nigeria Tinubu Support Groups.
Made the remarks on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, at the FOGOCOM-TSG National Conference in Abuja, organised by the Forum of Governing Council Members in Nigeria Tertiary Institutions in collaboration with the Tinubu Support Group.
The conference, themed “Empowering Tertiary Institutions for National Transformation: The Governing Council Role in Realising the Renewed Hope Agenda,” brought together stakeholders in Nigeria’s tertiary education sector to discuss institutional governance, leadership, development and national transformation.
The conference also featured President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, Director-General of the Progressive Congress Presidential Campaign Council for the 2027 general election, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, and Deputy Director-General of the campaign council, Rt. Hon. James Abiodun Faleke, among personalities displayed on the conference banner.
FOGOCOM had earlier announced that the conference would provide a platform for stakeholders from government, academia, industry and development agencies to deliberate on tertiary education, governance, leadership development, institutional effectiveness and sustainable national growth.
According to Johnson ,support groups backing the President have a responsibility to explain to Nigerians what they consider to be the achievements of the Tinubu administration and why they believe the President should be re-elected.
He said, “We are representing him and we are serving. So automatically, if we are representing him, we should be able to tell the world why he needs to be re-elected. So that’s what we are doing today.”
Johnson urged Nigerians to critically examine the records and policies of political leaders rather than following political narratives without assessing their implications for the country.
Quoting the late Afrobeat musician, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, he encouraged Nigerians to exercise independent judgment in deciding who should lead the country.
He said the country had inherited what he described as a “dilapidated foundation” before President Tinubu assumed office, arguing that the administration was now undertaking what he likened to an engineering process aimed at rebuilding the foundation without allowing the entire structure to collapse.
“The country is already on a dilapidated foundation before he became the President. Now he has started the engineering work of Nigeria, starting from the grassroots, up, up, up, from the foundation,” he said.
Johnson argued that one of the areas where he believes the Tinubu administration had made significant progress was in the management and monitoring of public funds.
Speaking from his experience as a member of a governing council of a federal institution, he said government expenditure had become subject to several layers of approval and monitoring, which, according to him, had made it more difficult for public funds to be diverted.
He cited the operation of the government’s Treasury Single Account (TSA) and electronic approval processes as examples of mechanisms that, in his view, had strengthened financial controls.
“Before any money goes out, the Accountant-General must approve it,” he said.
Using his institution as an example, Johnson explained that financial requests pass through several stages of approval before payment is authorised, with the relevant government financial authorities monitoring the process electronically.
According to him, such procedures have reduced opportunities for individuals to operate unauthorised accounts or divert government revenue.
“If President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has not done anything for this country, he has been able to cut and stop the embezzlement and stealing of public funds,” he stated.
Johnson also defended the administration’s decision to remove the petrol subsidy, arguing that the previous subsidy regime created opportunities for abuse and alleged diversion of public resources.
He claimed that the subsidy system had allowed a limited number of beneficiaries to profit from the arrangement, while the country was sometimes paying for petroleum products allegedly not consumed within Nigeria.
According to him, the removal of subsidy, although painful in the short term, would ultimately enable government to redirect resources towards development.
He acknowledged that Nigerians were currently experiencing economic difficulties, but likened the situation to pregnancy, saying that temporary pain could precede a period of greater benefit.
“The country is not too good now. It’s like when a woman is pregnant, automatically she will pass through a lot of pain, stress and all that. But when they give birth to a baby, the joy comes,” he said.
Johnson expressed optimism that Nigerians would begin to experience greater benefits from the government’s economic reforms as the administration’s policies mature.
He also referred to government plans and social intervention initiatives, including proposed support for unemployed Nigerians and elderly citizens, saying that such programmes would become more visible as the administration progresses.
On education, the NCTSG director-general praised what he described as the administration’s efforts to expand access to education financing.
He referenced the student loan initiative, arguing that investment in education would empower Nigerians and improve their ability to participate meaningfully in governance and the economy.
“Education makes people easy to lead, impossible to enslave. He’s giving us education now. He doesn’t want to enslave anybody. He wants to lead us right,” Johnson said.
He argued that an educated population would be better positioned to understand government policies, demand accountability and contribute to national development.
Johnson therefore called on Nigerians to remain patient with the ongoing reforms and assess the administration based on its policies, institutional changes and long-term objectives.
He maintained that, in his view, President Tinubu had taken steps to address structural weaknesses inherited by the administration and should be given the opportunity to consolidate them.
“Let me tell you, the country is already on dilapidated foundation before he became the President. Now he has started the engineering work of Nigeria,” he said.
The NCTSG leader further appealed to members of Tinubu’s support groups to intensify public enlightenment and grassroots engagement ahead of the forthcoming general elections.
He said support groups should not merely mobilise for political activities but should also be able to explain government policies and programmes to citizens.
According to him, the responsibility of the groups extends to communicating what the administration has done, what it is currently doing and what it intends to achieve.
Johnson concluded by reiterating his support for the continuation of the Tinubu administration, describing the President’s reforms as necessary steps towards rebuilding Nigeria’s economic and institutional foundations.
