President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has stated his administration has made concerted efforts to avert the nation from going bankrupt.

Speaking as a panelist at the ongoing World Economic Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Sunday, President Bola Tinubu was justifying the removal of the fuel subsidy.

Recall that President Tinubu announced the removal of subsidy on petrol the day he was inaugurated into office.

The policy has, however, impacted the prices of commodities with an increased hardship in the country.

Speaking on the petrol subsidy removal, President Tinubu said it was needed to reset the economy.

He said, “For Nigeria, we are immensely consistent with the belief that economic collaboration and inclusiveness is necessary to engender stability in the rest of the world.”

“Concerning the question of the subsidy removal, there is no doubt that it was a necessary action for my country not to go bankrupt, to reset the economy and pathway to growth,” Tinubu said.

Tinubu said he was convinced it was in the best interest of the people.

He said, “It is going to be difficult, but the hallmark of leadership is taking difficult decisions at the time it ought to be taken decisively. That was necessary for the country.

“Yes, there will be blowback, there is expectation that the difficulty in it will be felt by a greater number of the people, but once I believe it is their interest that is the focus of the government, it is easier to manage and explain the difficulties.

“Along the line, there is a parallel arrangement to really cushion the effect of the subsidy removal on the vulnerable population of the country. We share the pain across the board, we cannot but include those who are vulnerable.

“Luckily, we have a very vibrant youthful population interested in discoveries by themselves and they are highly ready for technology, good education committed to growth.

“We are able to manage that and partition the economic drawback and the fallout of subsidy removal.”

Tinubu said the fuel subsidy removal equally engendered accountability, transparency and physical discipline for the country.

According to Tinubu, it is more important to focus on what direction the country should go.

On the exchange rate unification, President Tinubu said the management of the nation’s currency by the government was as well necessary to allow the Naira compete favourably with other world currencies.

He said, “The currency management was necessary equally to remove the artificial elements of value in our currency. Let our local currency find its level and compete with the rest of the world currency and remove arbitrage, corruption and opaqueness.

“That we did at the same time. That is two engine problem in a very template situation for the government, but we are able to manage that turbulence because we are prepared for inclusivity in governance and rapid communication with the public to really see what is necessary and what you must do.”

A report has revealed that Dangote Cement Plc dispatched seven ships of clinker- from Nigeria to Ghana and Cameroon and that the export, for the first quarter of 2024 increased by 87.2 percent at 264kt.

While the company commissioned 10 of the 17 Alternative Fuel Projects across the Group, the local demand for cement, in the same period under review in Nigeria increased significantly by 26.1 per cent to 4.6Mt and the overall group volume rose by 12.3 per cent to 7.0Mt, for the first quarter of 2024.

Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Cement, Arvind Pathak, in his comments on the first quarter results, said, “During the quarter, we intensified our emphasis on exports, dispatching 7 ships from Nigeria to Ghana and Cameroon. As a result, our Nigerian exports surged by 87.2 percent, reflecting our commitment to expanding our presence in regional markets and capitalising on our export-to-import strategy.

“We continue to prioritise innovation, cleaner energy transition, and cost leadership towards achieving our vision of transforming Africa and building a sustainable future.”

The company recorded a Group revenue of N817.4 billion, even as profit after tax inched up by 2.9 percent to N112.7 billion. Earnings per share closed the quarter at N6.68 representing an increase of 3.7 percent. As part of its sustainability programme, Dangote Cement commissioned ten of the 17 Alternative Fuel Projects across the Group.

Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Cement, Arvind Pathak, in his comments on the results, said, “Driven by an uptick in economic activities, our Nigerian operations witnessed a strong rebound, with volumes up 26.1 percent to 4.6Mt in the quarter. Similarly, our pan-Africa operations continued an upward trajectory, with volumes up 3.1 percent to 2.7Mt, buoyed by increased sales in Zambia and Congo. Despite elevated cost pressures, increased borrowing costs, and a further currency weakening, our first-quarter results reflect our commitment to navigating challenges effectively.”

He added, “Group revenue more than doubled to N817.4 billion, while Group EBITDA rose 66.6 percent to N309.5 billion. Profit After Tax was up 2.9 percent at N112.7 billion. These results underscore our ability to adapt and thrive in a dynamic business environment while delivering value to our stakeholders.

“We continue to prioritise innovation, cleaner energy transition, and cost leadership towards achieving our vision of transforming Africa and building a sustainable future.”

Dangote Cement is Africa’s leading cement producer with 52.0Mta capacity across Africa. A fully integrated quarry-to-customer producer, Dangote Cement has a production capacity of 35.25Mta in Nigeria. Obajana plant in Kogi state, Nigeria, is the largest in Africa with 16.25Mta of capacity across five lines;  Ibese plant in Ogun State has four cement lines with a combined installed capacity of 12Mta; Gboko plant in Benue state has 4Mta; and  Okpella plant in Edo state has 3Mta.

Through recent investments, Dangote Cement has eliminated Nigeria’s dependence on imported cement and has transformed the nation into an exporter of cement serving neighbouring countries.

In addition, the company has operations in Cameroon (1.5Mta clinker grinding), Congo (1.5Mta), Ghana (2.0Mta clinker grinding and import), Ethiopia (2.5Mta), Senegal (1.5Mta), Sierra Leone (0.5Mta import), South Africa (2.8Mta), Tanzania (3.0Mta), Zambia (1.5Mta).

A Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Sule Lamido has given a hard knock on Northern governors over their recent trip to the United States to attend a peace summit organised by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP).

Lamido, a former Governor of Jigawa State made his comments in a statement via his official Facebook page on Sunday.

The PDP Chieftain said, “Our Northern governors as concerned leaders travelled all the way to the United States of America to attend a lecture at the American Institute for Peace titled ‘ADVANCING STABILITY IN NORTHERN NIGERIA,’ as to find a lasting solution to the intractable problems of insecurity bedeviling their respective states.”

“Their concern, commendable as it were, ended up exposing their ignorance at understanding the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the very instrument which gave them the legitimacy and the authority to be Governors.

“If the Governors had traveled to the U.S. to engage on how to boost agriculture or health issues or any other pressing local problems listed on the Concurrent List of our Constitution, this could be quite understandable.

“But to engage on issues which are on the Exclusive Legislative List such as security says a lot about the substance they are made of.

“Security is a very wide subject which their Excellencies must have capacity to grasp. Most urban towns in their states lack potable drinking water, and refuse dumps have taken over some streets.

“Our children attend primary schools under the trees and where there are classes, they take their lessons sitting on the floor, yet the security implications of this cannot be discerned by their Excellencies.

“Deliberate and harshly induced poverty by unplanned government policies have made citizens lose their esteem, honour and self worth by lining up scrambling to collect palliatives from patronising and condescending leaders yet the insecurity of this is of no worry or concern to them.

“You have governors with no human empathy or respect for dignity or decency in an open show of shame throwing money like confetti from an open Jeep and people scrambling to pick it like the Governor of Niger State. Yet they fail to see the security implications of all these.

“If the governors were serious and wanted to have a lecture on security, they need not have embarked on such a wasteful journey with the accompanying expenditure of flight tickets, hotels with all their aides and above all the valuable time wasted at the expense of running their states.

“Certainly, they could have gotten more than they wanted from our resourceful institutions such as NIPSS in Kuru Jos or ASCON in Badagry or even NIA.

“These three institutions have more than enough materials, essays and templates on the problems on security in Nigeria more than the far fetched American Institute.”

The former governor, however, blamed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the NIA for failing to properly guide the governors.

Lamido said, “I blame the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the NIA for failing to properly guide the governors for this folly.”

“The governors could not have travelled without the facilitation of the Ministry or our Embassy in Washington.

“Nigeria and Nigerians now carry the image of ‘advancing our shame and embarrassment beyond our frontiers’ caused by their Excellencies!”

He further stated, “One is inclined to believe Rufai Oseni when he recently said ‘Nigerian madness has no bounds or limits.”

“So in Nigeria today, one’s biggest challenge is how one remains sane in this insane country,” he said.