Balarabe Abbas Lawal

2026 INDEPENDENCE DAY ADDRESS: FROM REFORMS TO PROSPERITY My fellow Nigerians, Sixty-six years ago today, our flag was raised, for the first time, over a free and sovereign nation. Since then, we have journeyed together as one nation, bound by our collective trust in the great promise of Nigeria: that a country of our size, our bountiful resources, our cultural diversity and, above all, our extraordinary people can build a giant in Africa; that in this blessed and fertile land we can build a united, strong and prosperous nation; a land of regional authority and global consequence. Our journey has not always been easy. In truth, it has generally been too hard for too many. We have known moments of great hope and periods of profound disappointment. We have endured war, military rule, economic crises, insecurity and political upheaval. Yet through it all, Nigeria, with the indomitable spirit of its people, has endured. It has endured through the efforts of the farmer who rises before dawn to work his land. The trader who opens her shop each morning, hopeful for a productive day. The teacher who believes in the children entrusted to her care and the young entrepreneur who refuses to surrender ambition to circumstance. We are grateful for the men and women of our Armed Forces and security services who place themselves in harm's way so that the rest of us may live in peace. Through every difficulty, generations of Nigerians have continued to believe in one thing: that this country of ours will be better. This faith, which sustains us all, is the inheritance of independence. Our founding fathers did not struggle merely for a flag, an anthem or a place among the nations of the world. Independence carried a larger promise: that Nigerians would have the freedom to shape their own destiny and build a nation capable of providing opportunity, dignity and a better life for its people. Sixty-six years later, Almighty God has made it our responsibility to deliver that promise. Today, as we celebrate our independence, we must speak honestly about the journey so far, the choices we made, and the country we are determined to build from here. For too long, the promise of Nigeria was undermined by choices that postponed difficult decisions and allowed deep economic distortions to grow. By 2023, poverty was rising, and hope was nearly gone. The country's situation was darker than ever. We had no choice but to act. Nigeria was like a sick patient who receives the terrible news that he has cancer. His doctor explains that the treatment will be difficult and painful, but that it offers a strong prospect of recovery. The patient has a choice. He can begin treatment, endure its discomfort and fight the disease. Or he can ask only for morphine, dull the pain and leave the cancer to spread. For too long, Nigeria's leaders chose morphine while praying for a miracle that never came. They focused on symptoms while allowing the disease to take hold deep within the fabric of our society. We spent enormous sums sustaining inefficient arrangements that were never intended to last. We hid from difficult truths and passed the consequences from one generation to the next. When this Administration assumed office, we resolved to do things differently. We chose to excise the cancer. The reforms that followed were difficult. The side effects were real. Yet, we must never confuse the medicine with the disease. Our reforms did not create the weaknesses in our economy. They confronted them. Now, as certain influential but regressive voices would have us abandon the treatment and return ourselves to the abuse of addictive subsidies, we must resist their siren song. We must remember why we began this journey and how far we have already come.

Commemorating 70 years of the Nigerian Navy.

Fellow Nigerians, Three years ago, on this day, I first addressed you as your President. I pledged courage in leadership, honesty in reform, and commitment to rebuilding the foundations of our economy. The decisions we have taken since have been difficult but necessary. Today, the signs of recovery, resilience, and renewal are visible across our country. In honour of this milestone, and as a precursor to Democracy Day, today, across all six geopolitical zones, over twenty groups of strategic projects in energy, health, enterprise, education, and public works would be commissioned. Under the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund, four flagship projects today. FEMADEC Energy at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri — the first of twenty CNG refuelling stations in our federal universities. Portland Gas at Ojota, Lagos — a 96,000 SCMD CNG mother station, with a daughter station in Kubwa, Abuja. Ibile Oil and Gas, with its network of fifteen CNG refuelling stations across Lagos State. And Rolling Energy at Jahi, Abuja — anchoring a portfolio of seventeen RLNG and LCNG facilities across Kaduna, Kano and Borno. Together, these projects will lower transport costs, expand cleaner energy, and strengthen our energy sovereignty. In the health sector, thirteen new projects today across all six zones — every one of them ribbon-cut on the ground today. Six new facilities at our federal teaching hospitals: the President Bola Tinubu Complex at the Federal Medical Centre, Abuja; the Trauma Centre Pharmacy Quality Control Laboratory at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria; the Infertility and Assisted Reproductive Technology Centre at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital, Bauchi; the new Mental Health Complex at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital; the new Administrative Complex at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu; and the Laboratory Complex at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital. Also commissioned are the State Emergency Operations Centres in Kano, Sokoto and Katsina; the newly constructed Lagos Vaccine Hub in Oshodi; and the National Emergency Medical Service and Ambulance System fleet — one hundred and forty-five tricycle ambulances, six boat ambulances, and seventy-nine new ambulances for our federal hospitals. Two revitalised primary health centres at Gadon Kaya in Kano and Aboh in Delta State. These two stand for the almost three thousand primary health centres our administration has revitalised under the IMPACT programme over the last two years, alongside twenty-seven equipped Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care sites, one thousand six hundred and two revitalised Level 1 facilities, and one thousand three hundred and sixty revitalised Level 2 facilities, together bringing quality care closer to ordinary Nigerians in every zone. Alongside these, the new SMEDAN Industrial Development Centre at Ikorodu, Lagos, and additional projects in education and public works being delivered across the country. These projects are not ceremonial symbols. They are evidence that the Renewed Hope Agenda is being felt in homes, businesses, schools and hospitals across our federation. Today is the commemoration of our inauguration. It is not a day for long speeches. On June 12, our Democracy Day, we will present our full scorecard to Nigerians. And so, by the authority vested in me as President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I hereby declare all these projects — across our health system, our energy infrastructure, our enterprise, our education and our public works — duly commissioned, and dedicated to the service of the Nigerian people. The work continues. The reforms continue. And our resolve remains unshaken. Thank you, and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Watch Live on Https://Youtube.com/@theasov… BOLA AHMED TINUBU, GCFR President, Federal Republic of Nigeria 29th May 2026