LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led economic reform has “saved the life of the nation” since he assumed office on May 29, 2023.
This statement was made by the Vice President of Nigeria, Kashim Shettima on Thursday when he spoke as the guest speaker at the Second Chronicle Roundtable in Abuja.
Shettima said that for the last one year, policies employed by the Tinubu-led administration were necessary to drive the country’s economic growth.
He said: “His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, chose the option that will save the life of the nation instead of one that will merely prolong its imminent and predicted economic death,”
He urged Nigerians to trust the leadership of the president for continuity and greater purpose.
He also explained that the need for the administration to remove subsidy on petrol was a bold step for the country
READ ALSO: We’ll Bring Down Inflation, Don’t Worry – Tinubu Tells Nigerians
Shettima affirmed that measures employed by Tinubu-led administration would produce positive results in various sector very soon.
“Soon, Nigeria’s economy will experience significant growth once we’ve overcome these sacrifices. Positive changes will soon be evident across all economic indicators – inflation, per capita income, GDP numbers, poverty reduction, food security, and all aspects close to the hearts of our people,” the VP predicted.
As for current economic hardship, we does not hold previous regime accountable for its decisions, Shettima expressed.
“We understood why our predecessor made the decision to remove the subsidy. We do not resort to putting the blame on the previous administration.
“Leadership is about courage, leadership is about continuity, leadership is about taking far-reaching decisions. Before we took charge, the biggest issue was the fuel subsidy removal. We had to get rid of the subsidy or the subsidy would have destroyed the Nigerian nation, it was a bitter pill to swallow, but necessary.
“The government is a continuum. Whoever succeeded the previous government could either steer the ship through the storm as President Tinubu is doing or let the country implode,” he stated firmly.
READ ALSO: Tinubu Determined To Improve Nigerians’ Quality Of Life – Shettima
He said all the presidential candidates in the last election promised to remove petrol subsidy and fight corruption at all government level, so, these are part of the obvious steps needed for the administration to take.
“Fortunately, this is why some of our brothers and sisters who ran for this office could not question our methods. Whether in handling the subsidy matter or the FOREX crisis, we had also promised the solutions we adopted. Those who tried to backtrack were instantly proven wrong by data, history, and the facts,” he added.
However, the Vice President lamented the level of sabotage Nigeria’s economy had suffered at the hands of those he said are only concerned with personal gains over national interest.
He talked about the forex crisis resolution, saying “Our colleagues in charge of the CBN, Mr. Yemi Cardoso, and the NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, had to take matters into their own hands.”
He argued that every nation is forged out of its peculiar economic histories and contexts.
He cited the Argentine Solution suggested by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the last election, Atiku Abubakar, noting that governance is not a photocopying machine.
“Sometime in February this year, a presidential candidate in the last election…rushed to point Argentina as a model for Nigeria.
“In barely two weeks, he watched as Argentina’s inflation rates soared, yet refused to acknowledge that every country’s journey is different.
“Every country is a product of its economic history and context. We respect what President Javier Milei does there and we wish him well, but governance is not the photocopying machine some of us believe it is,” he said.
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Regionally, Shettima opined that Nigeria must to get its acts together first before it can lead Africa into its projected growth revolution.
“The trajectory of global growth is facing Africa and Nigeria will make or mar that transition. It’s in our interest, it’s in the interest of the black man, for Nigeria to succeed.
“Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, though humbly it might be, there’s no place like home. We have to unite, we have to fuse into one. Politics is over, we are now in the phase of governance.
“We need to move this nation forward, not for my own sake, not for the sake of the people on the high table, but for the sake of the black man.”