The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has said the Federal Government’s recently unveiled $1 billion anti-poverty social protection programme was carefully and diligently developed over several months, dismissing opposition claims that it was hurriedly arranged in response to criticism of the administration.
In a statement by its Chairman, Emeka Nwankpa, and Secretary, Dapo Okubanjo, the group said the federal government’s months-long work on the flagship programme should not be described as a panic or knee-jerk reaction to the opposition’s campaign promise to restore fuel subsidy.
According to the statement, the Renewed Hope Social Protection programme (HOPE-SP) is a well thought-out, targeted and coordinated plan by the Tinubu administration to provide long-term economic support for vulnerable Nigerians, aimed at delivering permanent and sustainable economic freedom rather than the temporary palliative support that characterised previous poverty reduction schemes.
The group said the initiative comes in the aftermath of the cost-of-living crisis triggered by the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of exchange rates.
TMSG expressed surprise that a programme the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Bernard Doro, and his team had been developing since assuming office in November 2025, based on a presidential directive, was being characterised as a reaction to a campaign promise by an opposition presidential candidate.
While acknowledging that the programme was launched about a week after former Vice President Atiku Abubakar unveiled his Atiku Economic Recovery Plan tied to restoring fuel subsidy, the group argued that assembling such an elaborate, multi-faceted social protection programme, complete with mechanisms for tracking beneficiaries and measuring progress, takes far longer than a few days.
It described as implausible the African Democratic Congress’s suggestion that HOPE-SP was a response to the Atiku plan.
The group said that regardless of the political mileage the opposition seeks to gain, President Tinubu had always acknowledged that ongoing reforms would come with hardship, while pledging that vulnerable Nigerians would not be left unattended.
It noted that prior to HOPE-SP, the administration had run a Cash Transfer initiative over the past three years that benefited about 10 million vulnerable households.
TMSG also referenced World Bank concerns that only 44 percent of government-funded social protection schemes were effectively reaching intended beneficiaries, saying this underscored the need for a more robust approach.
TMSG described HOPE-SP, alongside the recently unveiled World Bank-backed $3 billion plan, as a well thought-out response that goes beyond cash transfers to promote sustainable livelihoods for vulnerable Nigerians.
It said beneficiary households would be tracked to measure the programme’s impact and guided through a “poverty graduation pathway” toward economic inclusion and self-reliance.
The group expressed hope that ongoing anti-poverty efforts would achieve lasting impact once state and local governments key into the programme, ensuring a coordinated approach across all 8,809 wards in the country.
TMSG commended Nigerians for their resilience and patience amid ongoing economic reforms, urging them to remain supportive of the Tinubu administration while resisting attempts by opposition presidential candidates to mislead the public ahead of the 2027 elections.
