In a nationwide broadcast on Monday, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu rolled out measures to sustainably mitigate the hardship Nigerians are going through in the wake of the subsidy removal on petroleum and other economic downturns.
In the address, Tinubu explained that the economic defects he was fighting to correct were benefitting only the rich, which was why fuel subsidy had to go and other fiscal policies were being implemented.
The President, however, promised to reduce the burden the current situation had imposed on the working class and the most vulnerable among us.
Part of the plans announced by Tinubu was the releases of N75B to fund enterprises at single digits (9%) per annum, N125BN funds to energize MSMEs, and 200,000 metric tonnes of grains to be released.
The president added that 225,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer, seedlings and other inputs to be provided for farmers immediately and N50BN will be provided to cultivate 150,000 hectares of rice and maize.
According to him, 50BN will be provided to cultivate 100,000 hectares of wheat and cassava was well as N100BN to acquire 3000 units of 20-seater CNG-fuelled buses.
On minimum wage, Tinubu assured that it will be upwardly reviewed immediately as he also emphasise on Students Loan.
The speech read in part: “I had promised to reform the economy for the long-term good by fighting the major imbalances that had plagued our economy.
“Ending the subsidy and the preferential exchange rate system were key to this fight. This fight is to define the fate and future of our nation. Much is in the balance.
“Thus, the defects in our economy immensely profited a tiny elite, the elite of the elite you might call them.
“As we moved to fight the flaws in the economy, the people who grow rich from them, predictably, will fight back through every means necessary.
“Our economy is going through a tough patch and you are being hurt by it. The cost of fuel has gone up. Food and other prices have followed it. Households and businesses struggle.
“Things seem anxious and uncertain. I understand the hardship you face. I wish there were other ways. But there is not. If there were, I would have taken that route as I came here to help not hurt the people and nation that I love.
“What I can offer in the immediate is to reduce the burden our current economic situation has imposed on all of us, most especially on businesses, the working class and the most vulnerable among us.
“Already, the Federal Government is working closely with states and local governments to implement interventions that will cushion the pains of our people across socio-economic brackets.”
