Orji Uzor Kalu, the Senator representing Abia North, has slammed Nigerians for always expecting easy money without hard work while defending president Tinubu’s economic policies.

The former governor of Abia state made this statement at the National Assembly complex on Tuesday, May 27, 2025 when he was addressing newsmen.

He acknowledged the current hardship in the country but urged citizens to be patient, insisting that the benefits of the ongoing economic reforms will become evident in the coming years.

Kalu who identified himself as a business man and not a politician, acknowledged the hardship in the country however urging citizens to endure untill everything starts making sense in two years time.

“Let me be honest with you. I’m a businessman, not a politician. There are only a few things that are not happening. The indices of Mr. President’s policies might not be working down the line. People are still suffering — yes, I agree with that. But it has started trickling in at the macro level — that is, at the upper level, not the lower level.

“So I’m hoping that in the next two to three years, the President’s policies will trickle down, and Nigerians will appreciate what he’s doing.

“Since 1960, this is the first President — and I have the facts — who stopped the fuel subsidy. This is the first President who merged the dollar rates. That is why we are suffering — because Nigerians are not used to working hard. We’re used to getting easy money.

“People used to sit in their houses, use their phones, get dollars, and sell at very high rates.

“People sit at home, use their tank farms, collect papers, and make money. This is one President who has said: ‘if you are ready to make money, do it the right way. If you’re not ready, then leave it,” he said.