Despite Nigeria’s Economic Challenges, Rising Inflation, Tinubu Insists Economic Policies On Right Track
In a live broadcast addressing the nation’s concerns on Sunday morning, President Tinubu maintained that his economic strategies are yielding positive results.
President Bola Tinubu has defended his economic policies despite the economic challenges facing Nigeria including the soaring inflation.
In a live broadcast addressing the nation’s concerns on Sunday morning, President Tinubu maintained that his economic strategies are yielding positive results.
His statement comes as protesters across the country demand better governance through the #EndBadGovernance protests.
He noted that policies such as removal of fuel subsidy and the devaluation of naira have helped the country.
According to him, more investors have shown interest in critical sectors of the country while infrastructure has been delivered to Nigerians.
He said, “For decades, our economy has remained anemic and taken a dip because of major misalignments that have stunted our growth.
“Just over a year ago, our dear country, Nigeria, reached a point where we couldn’t afford to continue the use of temporary solutions to solve long-term problems for the sake of new now and our unborn generations.
“I therefore took the painful yet necessary decision to remove fuel subsidies and abolish multiple foreign exchange systems which had constituted a noose around the economic jugular of our Nation and impeded our economic development and progress.
“These actions blocked the greed and the profits that smugglers and rent-seekers made. They also blocked the undue subsidies we had extended to our neighbouring countries to the detriment of our people, rendering it easy prey. These decisions I made were necessary of our most reverse the decades of economic mismanagement that didn’t serve us well.
“Yes, I agree, the buck stops on my table. I can assure you that I am focused fully on delivering the governance to the people – good governance for that matter.
“In the past 14 months, our government has made significant strides in rebuilding and the foundation of our economy to carry us into a future of plentiful abundance.
“On the fiscal side, aggregate government revenues have more than doubled, hitting over 9.1 trillion Naira in the first half of 2024 compared to the first half of 2023 due to our efforts at blocking leakages, introducing automation, and mobilizing by creativity without additional burden on the people.
“Productivity is gradually increasing in the non-oil sector, reaching new levels and taking advantage of the opportunities in the current economic ambience.”
This claim is despite food inflation rocking the country and put at over 40.87%, general inflation is also on the increase currently pegged at over 34%.
Generally, the cost of living in the country has become unbearable for many Nigerians.
While the government recently increased minimum wage to N70,000, the value of the minimum wage is less than the N30,000 paid in 2019 as minimum wage.
Nigerians throughout the country have gathered to protest against the high cost of living and worsening poverty. However, this has been met with police brutality with over a dozen persons killed in Abuja, Niger, Kano and other places.
