By Ebele Ndudi
Vice President Kashim Shettima says President Bola Tinubu’s
economic reforms saved Nigeria from economic collapse, arguing that the country
was already approaching a critical point when the administration took office in
2023.
Shettima made the claim on Saturday in Lagos after meeting
Tinubu, citing foreign reserves of less than $3.9 billion at the time and
saying they could not cover fuel imports for one month.
He credited Tinubu’s “courage and conviction” for removing
the fuel subsidy and unifying the country’s multiple exchange rates, describing
both measures as far-reaching decisions taken to prevent a deeper economic
crisis.
“The economy was actually on the verge of collapse. He saved
the economy,” Shettima said, adding that Nigeria had been “on the road to
Caracas” before Tinubu’s reforms changed its course.
The Vice President acknowledged the hardship facing
Nigerians but said the Federal Government was introducing measures intended to
ease the pressure, insisting that difficult periods would eventually give way
to better times.
Among the planned interventions, Shettima said the
government would launch an e-logistics scheme in the North-West and introduce
10,600 electric tricycles, alongside 300 buses and e-taxis, in coming weeks.
He said the initiatives reflected Tinubu’s “empathy for the
common man” and were designed to reduce transportation costs and ease economic
pressure on households struggling with the effects of the reforms.
The Lagos meeting was the first public engagement between
Tinubu and Shettima since the President returned from a European holiday and
followed Shettima’s return from the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New
York.
Tinubu has said Nigeria is on the path to prosperity, but
opposition figures Atiku Abubakar of the ADC and Peter Obi of the NDC dispute
that assessment, accusing the administration of worsening poverty, hunger and
insecurity.
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