No going back on fuel subsidy removal — Tinubu to Nigerians

…Releases N560bn to states, suspends import tariffs on drugs, food items

…N1bn each to large manufacturers

…Says CNG initiative to save Nigeria N2trn monthly spending on PMS, AGO

…As Revenue hits N9.1trn in first six months

By Seun Ibiyemi

President Bola Tinubu has dismissed the call for the return fuel subsidy, stating that he is focused fully on delivering governance to the people, appealing to Nigerians for an understanding, over the current economic situation in the country that led to the ongoing nationwide protest.

The President made the broadcast, amidst revelations that Nigeria lost over N700 billion to the #EndBadGovernance protests, during the first two days, assured that his administration is doing everything necessary to ease the hardships.

Well-meaning Nigerians, including organisations, such as the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had called on the President to address the nation to douse tension, as the protest entered its 3rd day on Saturday.

But the President, in his nationwide broadcast aimed at dousing tension across the country, said the reforms, though painful, were necessary to save the country from total bankruptcy.

Central to Tinubu’s address was the defence of his administration’s economic reforms, particularly the removal of fuel subsidies and the unification of foreign exchange systems.

He acknowledged the pain these decisions have caused but emphasised their necessity for long-term economic stability and growth.

“For decades, our economy has remained anaemic and taken a dip because of many 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 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,” he said.

He, however, dismissed the call for the reverse of the policies, saying that, “these decisions I made were necessary if we must reverse the decades of economic mismanagement that didn’t serve us well. Yes, I agree, the buck stops on my table. But I can assure you that I am focused fully on delivering the governance to the people good governance for that matter.”

Tinubu also reported a resurgence in the oil and gas industry, following reforms to address gaps in the Petroleum Industry Act.

He said oil production has increased to 1.61 million barrels per day, and significant foreign investments are flowing into the sector.

Addressing the reliance on oil-based petrol, the president said his administration has launched the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Initiative aimed at reducing transportation costs and saving over two trillion Naira monthly used to import PMS and AGO.

He listed the release of 20 trucks of rice, made up of 1200 bags of 25kg to each state of the federation including the federal capital Territory FCT.

He said the Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (CNG) that will power the transportation economy will save Nigeria over N2 trillion being used to import Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) into Nigeria.

To address this, we immediately launched our Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (CNG) to power our transportation economy and bring costs down. This will save over two trillion Naira a month, being used to import PMS and AGO and free up our resources for more investment in healthcare and education,” he said.

The President noted that “To this end, we will be distributing a million kits of extremely low or no cost to commercial vehicles that transport people and goods and who currently consume 80 percent of the imported PMS and AGO.”

 ”We have started the distribution of conversion kits and setting up of conversion centres across the country in conjunction with the private sector. We believe that this CNG initiative will reduce transportation costs by approximately 60 per cent and help to curb inflation,” he said.

Aside from the CNG initiative, the President disclosed that the government has embarked on major infrastructure projects across the country, adding his administration has propelled the “release of fertiliser to farmers, the establishment of CNG conversion centres across the country, the students loan scheme, as well as release of funds to support the Micro, Small and Medium scale Enterprises MSMEs.”

He announced that the government is providing incentives to farmers to increase food production at affordable prices, amongst others

“I have directed that tariffs and other import duties should be removed on rice, wheat, maize, sorghum, drugs, and other pharmaceutical and medical supplies for the next 6 months, in the first instance, to help drive down the prices.

“Yes, the buck stops on my table. But I can assure you that I am focused fully on delivering the governance to the people – good governance for that matter.”

Tinubu reiterated that the nation’s economy was “anaemic” for over a decade and “took a dip because of many 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 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 our economy prostate.

“These decisions I made were necessary if we must reverse the decades of economic mismanagement that didn’t serve us well.

“In the past 14 months, our government has made significant strides in rebuilding the foundation of our economy to carry us into a future of plenty and 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 mobilising funding creatively without additional burden on the people.”

He said productivity is gradually increasing in the non-oil sector, reaching new levels and taking advantage of the opportunities in the current economic ambience.

“My dear brothers and sisters, we have come this far. Coming from a place where our country spent 97 percent of all our revenue on debt service; we have been able to reduce that to 68 percent in the last 13 months. We have also cleared legitimate outstanding foreign exchange obligations of about $5billion without any adverse impact on our programmes,” the President noted in his speech.