President Bola Tinubu says he is aware of the hardships Nigerians are facing due to the removal of the petrol subsidy.
He said the action was taken in the overall public interests.
In a nationwide broadcast yesterday, Tinubu noted that few powerful cabals, who have benefited from the subsidy scam, had plunged the economy into bad condition, while the few beneficiaries feed fat, adding that since the subsidy payment was stopped about two months ago, the country has saved about N1trn.
To cushion the hardship, Tinubu approved N100bn for the procurement of 3000 20-seater buses fuelled by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to ease the high cost of transportation caused by fuel subsidy removal.
The President also said that his administration is going to energise micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises and the informal sector as drivers of growth with N125bn.
He explained that out of the sum, N50bn will be spent on a conditional grant to one million nano businesses between now and March 2024, explaining that the government target is to give N50,000 each to 1,300 nano business owners in each of the 774 local governments across the country
This is because he has given hope to workers that he will meet with the leadership of the organised labour on the increment of the minimum wage to meet the present economic realities in the country.
In the broadcast titled: After darkness, comes the glorious dawn, Tinubu said he had approved infrastructure support fund for the 36 states of the federation
He said it is important for Nigerians to understand the reasons for the policy measures he has taken to combat the serious economic challenges the nation has long faced.
He said, “I will speak in plain, clear language so that you know where I stand. More importantly, so that you see and hopefully will share my vision regarding the journey to a better, more productive economy for our beloved country.
“For several years, I have consistently maintained the position that the fuel subsidy had to go. This once beneficial measure had outlived its usefulness. The subsidy cost us trillions of Naira yearly. Such a vast sum of money would have been better spent on public transportation, healthcare, schools, housing, and even national security. Instead, it was being funnelled into the deep pockets and lavish bank accounts of a select group of individuals.
“This group had amassed so much wealth and power that they became a serious threat to the fairness of our economy and the integrity of our democratic governance. To be blunt, Nigeria could never become the society it was intended to be as long as such small, powerful yet unelected groups hold enormous influence over our political economy and the institutions that govern it.
“The whims of the few should never hold dominant sway over the hopes and aspirations of the many. If we are to be a democracy, the people and not the power of money must be sovereign.
“The preceding administration saw this looming danger as well. Indeed, it made no provision in the 2023 Appropriations for subsidy after June this year. Removal of this once helpful device that had transformed into a millstone around the country’s neck had become inevitable.
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*Multiple exchange rate
“Also, the multiple exchange rate system that had been established became nothing but a highway of currency speculation. It diverted money that should have been used to create jobs, build factories and businesses for millions of people.
“Our national wealth was doled on favourable terms to a handful of people who have been made filthy rich simply by moving money from one hand to another. This too was extremely unfair.
“It also compounded the threat that the illicit and mass accumulation of money posed to the future of our democratic system and its economy.”
He said he had promised to reform the economy for the long-term good by fighting the major imbalances that had plagued it
“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,” he added.
Tinubu said that the defects in the “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.
Earmarks N125bn for MSMEs
“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.
“Earlier this month, I signed four (4) Executive Orders in keeping with my electoral promise to address unfriendly fiscal policies and multiple taxes that are stifling the business environment. These Executive Orders on suspension and deferred commencement of some taxes will provide the necessary buffers and headroom for businesses in the manufacturing sector to continue to thrive and expand.
“To strengthen the manufacturing sector, increase its capacity to expand, and create good paying jobs, we are going to spend N75bn between July 2023 and March 2024. Our objective is to fund 75 enterprises with great potential to kick-start sustainable economic growth, accelerate structural transformation and improve productivity.
