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The Tinubu Movement for Sustainable Governance Foundation, TMS, has launched a platform to enable Nigerians to engage with government policies, verify information and contribute ideas to national development.
The foundation also held its inaugural training workshop in Abuja on Thursday, urging Nigerians to understand, support and sustain the reform agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The programme, themed ‘Empowering Every Nigerian to be Heard’, featured the unveiling of the organisation’s official website, www.tmsnigeria.ng, which it said would provide citizens with access to information and a platform for engagement.
Speaking at the event, the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, who is also Chairman of the Board of Trustees and National Coordinator of TMS, said the Tinubu administration’s reforms were designed to shift government spending from consumption subsidies to investments in production, innovation and economic growth.
Mr Abdullahi said the reforms were aimed at addressing the imbalance in government spending and creating an environment that would encourage productivity and investment.
“We spend most of our resources trying to subsidise consumption. When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu came on board, he looked at it: Is it consumption we should subsidise, or production, innovation, and investment? That is what the reforms are all about,” he said.
He said the Renewed Hope Agenda was built around eight priority areas, including economic reform, national security, food security, energy development, infrastructure, healthcare, education, industrialisation and improved governance.
The NITDA director-general cited the integration of digital skills into formal education, the introduction of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and the student loan scheme as some of the initiatives designed to expand opportunities for Nigerians.
He also highlighted NITDA’s digital literacy programmes, including the Digital Literacy for All initiative, through which more than 19,000 National Youth Service Corps members had been deployed as digital literacy champions to train people in markets and motor parks.
Mr Abdullahi further mentioned the Three Million Tech Talent programme, which he said was designed to equip young Nigerians with skills to secure remote employment opportunities with international companies.
On investment, he said the reforms were beginning to attract renewed investor confidence, citing the Dangote Refinery, a $1bn data centre investment announced by a South African company and JP Morgan’s decision to open operations in Nigeria.
He, however, acknowledged that economic development required sustained policies and long-term commitment.
“No country in the world developed in less than 30 years. The fastest developed country is South Korea. It took 30 years. To develop, you need the right policies first. That is the foundation Mr President is laying. Then you build on it to get investors,” he said.
Mr Abdullahi described reforms as a continuous process, saying the foundation was established to help Nigerians understand government policies and their potential benefits.
“Reform is a journey; it is not a one-off event. The essence of this movement is to enlighten Nigerians on these reforms, so that Nigerians can understand what is in it for them. You are the ultimate beneficiary,” he said.
He urged participants to make recommendations on how to sustain the reforms and identify areas where the government needed to improve.
He also called for contributions to the approved National Youth Conference, saying citizens should be actively involved in shaping policies that affect them.
Also speaking, a member of TMS Board of Trustees, Olujonwo Obasanjo, said the movement was established to bridge the information gap between the government and citizens and communicate the impact of government projects across the country.
Mr Obasanjo said the establishment of regional development commissions and the Supreme Court-backed local government autonomy initiative were among the measures taken by the Tinubu administration to promote inclusive development and bring governance closer to the people.
He, however, identified policy discontinuity as one of Nigeria’s major development challenges, arguing that successive governments must sustain reforms to achieve lasting economic progress.
“Nigeria’s development challenge has never been lack of ideas, but policy discontinuity. There is the need for sustained, uninterrupted reforms to consolidate gains, drive economic growth and ensure that ongoing investments translate into lasting prosperity,” he said.
In his remarks, the Director-General of TMS, Marcel Ngogbehei, said the workshop was organised to educate ordinary Nigerians and provide them with a credible platform to express their views on national issues.
He said the training combined civic education with practical engagement, including role-play sessions that allowed participants to compare public expectations with policies and programmes being implemented by the Tinubu administration.
Mr Ngogbehei acknowledged that economic reforms often came with initial difficulties but argued that policy continuity was necessary to attract long-term investments and ensure that the benefits of reforms reached households.
He urged Nigerians to look beyond political rhetoric and demand concrete policy alternatives from political actors.
“Instead of following rhetoric, we should encourage Nigerians to ask the opposition a simple question: What alternative are you offering that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not already doing?” he said.
