• Channels N200bn to Foods; Transport N100bn

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, this evening, vows to improve the welfare and living conditions of Nigerians through his economic reforms, saying, “I plead with you to please have faith in our ability to deliver and in our concern for your well-being.

Tinubu, in his national broadcast on the current economic challenges, assures Nigerians that ” We will get out of this turbulence. And, due to the measures we have taken, Nigeria will be better equipped and able to take advantage of the future that awaits her.”

He further urges the led, to look beyond the present temporary economic pains and aim at the larger picture ahead , stressing : ” I came here to help not hurt the people and the nation that I love.”

He acknowledged that although Our economy is going through a tough patch and Nigerians are being hurt by it, ” AFTER DARKNESS COMES THE GLORIOUS DAWN.”

Consequently, in order to ensure that foods are available and affordable,  Tinubu has ordered the release of 200,000 Metric Tonnes of grains from strategic reserves to households across the 36 states and FCT to moderate prices.

He said that the government  is also providing 225,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer, seedlings and other inputs to farmers who are committed to our food security agenda.

Our plan to support cultivation of 500,000 hectares of farmland and all-year-round farming practice remains on course.

To be specific, N200 billion out of the N500 billion approved by the National Assembly will be disbursed as follows: 

-Our administration will invest N50 billion each to cultivate 150,000 hectares of rice and maize.

-N50 billion each will also be earmarked to cultivate 100,000 hectares of wheat and cassava.

This expansive agricultural programme will be implemented targeting small-holder farmers and leveraging large-scale private sector players in the agric business with strong performance record.

Investing N100bn on CNG fuel buses
” We have made provision to invest N100 billion between now and March 2024 to acquire 3000 units of 20-seater CNG-fuelled buses.

These buses will be shared to major transportation companies in the states, using the intensity of travel per capital. Participating transport companies will be able to access credit under this facility at 9% per annum with 60 months repayment period.

His words: “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.

” Fellow Nigerians, I made a solemn pledge to work for you. How to improve your welfare and living condition is of paramount importance to me and it’s the only thing that keeps me up day and night.

“All of our good and helpful plans are in the works. More importantly, I know that they will work,” he said.

He explains that the decision by his government to have removed fuel subsidy and the preferential exchange rate system were taken to combat the serious economic challenges this nation has long faced.

” 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.

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.”

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.