President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria on Thursday said the rationale behind his administration’s economic reforms was to protect the interests of future generations.

The number one citizen made the remarks at the State House while receiving a delegation of former National Assembly colleagues from the aborted Third Republic, during which he served as a Senator representing Lagos West.

President Tinubu also highlighted the challenges faced at the beginning of his administration, especially economic and social issues, as he expressed gratitude for the delegation’s support in addressing the difficulties.

“For 50 years, Nigeria was spending money of generations yet unborn and servicing the West Coast of our subregion with fuel. It was getting difficult to plan for our children’s future,” he said.

“We faced serious headwinds when I took over, very challenging times. Nigeria would have been bankrupt if we had not taken the actions that we took, and we had to prevent the economy’s collapse,” he said.

President Tinubu therefore declared that the administration had been able to stem the tide and expressed appreciation to Nigerians for their collective support in turning things around.

“Today, we are sitting pretty on a good foundation. We have reversed the problem; the exchange rate is stabilising.

“Food prices are coming down, especially during Ramadan. We will have light at the end of the tunnel,” said the President.

He said firm adherence to democratic tenets was the best route to economic, social, and political development.

“I am happy that you are holding to your belief in democracy. I thank you for keeping faith and remembering how we started. Some people missed the ball.

“Some leadership failed, but we kept the faith with our democratic beliefs and freedom and the right to aspire to the highest office in the land. I am benefitting from it,” Tinubu stated.