—As Forum of APC Professionals assure of brighter days ahead
By Jude Opara, Abuja
As the administration of President Bola Tinubu prepares for its one year anniversary, the Vice President, Sen. Kashim Shettima has appeared to all Nigerians to continue to bear with the government, saying that the administration is putting in place measures that will end the current hardship being experienced in the country.
Shettima who spoke through Alhaji Moddibo Kawu who represented him at the APC Professionals Forum’s Roundtable Conference on “Asiwaju Score Card Series” in Abuja said the government is aware of the hardship being experienced by the masses, but added that it is better to put in place measures and policies that would herald a prosperous future once and for all.
The Vice President further added that the administration inherited a huge burden from the previous government, adding that it resolved that instead of making quick fixes, it decided to confront the challenges head on, hence the ‘temporary’ discomfort experienced by the citizenry.
“This is one gathering to whom we don’t have to struggle to explain that we inherited a burden that tests the sincerity of our leadership. This is a collective that understands, perhaps more than any group in the country, that the economic and geopolitical pressures before us are no easy task.
“The policies this administration has rolled out are designed to deal with the remnants of longstanding issues that have undermined our economy head-on, rather than opting for temporary fixes. This is essential for the health and future of our nation. These decisions are to guarantee the course of our nation for generations to come instead of postponing the setbacks for our children and their children.
“President Tinubu, has made the difficult but necessary choices to ensure Nigeria’s long-term stability and prosperity are never in doubt. He has chosen a path that, although demanding, promises to save our nation from economic downfall. This began with the calculated removal of the fuel subsidy. This decision was not made for its own sake but to redeem the reality of the nation’s unsustainable debt service-to-revenue ratio, which had grown to alarming levels over the past few years.
“We came at a time that demanded interventions to end untenable practices that threatened our economic survival, a time that required decisive action to redirect resources toward more productive sectors of our economy, and we do not tread this path with malice.
“We took on the challenge of steering the nation through this economic storm, fully aware of the sacrifices ahead. Yet, we Creative Enterprises, and the Expanded National MSME Clinics. These programs are designed to create more job opportunities and foster economic inclusivity”.
Also in his remarks, the National Chairman of the APC, Dr. Abdulahi Ganduje said already the policies of the administration has started yielding positive results with the economy beginning to show growth indications, which he insisted will impact food security and food prices positively.
Ganduje further posited that the economy is gradually moving towards renewable and affordable energy which he assured the government of President Tinubu will see through as a signature hallmark.
“Ladies and gentlemen, without going into the details of the theme, let me say that our economy is now gradually been transformed into a cerdit-based consumer economy that will improve agriculture, with emphasis on dry season farming, which will positively impact food security food price, and deliver enabling infrastructure, access to education, among others.
“Now that the economy is shifting towards renewable and sustainable energy sources, the use of cheap and clean Compressed NaturalGas (CNG) has now become a reality under the President Bola Tinubu’s administration”.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the APC Professionals Forum, Dr. Isa Yuguda said the forum was formed by patriotic members of the party and citizens who saw the need to create a forum where the policies of the government would be ex-rayed to ensure that they were in tune with the yearnings of the people.
Yuguda, a former governor of Bauchi state added that those who initiated the forum were convinced that the then candidate of the APC, Sen. Bola Tinubu was going to win the 2023 presidential election, hence the decision to further strengthen his government by making it easier for the people to evaluate its programmes and policies from time to time.
“Today, we have once again converged here for a policy round table to take stock of the first year of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda under the banner of the Asiwaju scorecard series. We shall be looking at two key issues which are quite germane to the nation’s development: State of the Nigerian economy and the Power sector”
The former Minister of Transport equally hailed the Tinubu administration for the unified exchange rates which he argued has inevitably sent those benefiting from arbitrage out of business.
“And of course, it did not take before Nigeria began to reap the benefits as the economy grew by 3.46% in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared with 2.54% in the preceding quarter. Also Capital importation was up by 66% in Q4 of 2023 compared to a 33% decline in thr previous quarter”.
Let us not forget how oil production has grown steadily since the second quarter of 2023 from 1.22m barrels per day to 1.55m barrels per day which means additional resources even as non-oil revenue continue to rise as a result of financial re-engineering of the Tinubu administration.
