By Olubunmi Omoogun – Nigeria’s Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima has revealed that the political dexterity, boldness and statesmanly decisions of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu acted as a catalyst that helped to sustain the economic prosperity of the nation.
Adding that his decisions to remove petrol subsidy saved Nigeria from imminent economic death.
The former Borno state governor, Shettima, while disclosing this last thursday during the 2nd Chronicle Roundtable organized by 21st Century Media Services, Publishers of 21st CENTURY CHRONICLE, as part of its public service enlightenment series held at the Ladi Kwali Hall, Abuja Continental Hotel, Abuja, said that “Soon, Nigeria’s economy will experience significant growth once we’ve overcome these sacrifices. Positive changes will soon be evident across all economic indicators – inflation, per capita income, GDP numbers, poverty reduction, food security, and all aspects close to the hearts of our people”.
Noting how bad the situation was before they came into government, Shettima said, they had two options, which were to steer the ship through the storm as President Tinubu is doing, or jumped ship and let the country implode.
During the roundtable discussion, the Vice President who was made the guest speaker by the organisers of the event highlighted some key policy decisions the Tinubu administration took.
Addressing the audience, the 9th National Assembly Senator described removal of subsidy as the ‘biggest elephant in the room’ even as he appealed to the nation to be patient with the Tinubu administration, as things will get better soon.
“President Bola Tinubu, chose the option that would save the life of the nation, instead of one that would merely prolong its imminent and predicted economic death.
Before we took charge, the biggest elephant in the room was the question of fuel subsidy removal.
“We understood why our predecessor made the decision to remove it and refused to budget for it in their final fiscal year. The year before we took office, Nigeria’s debt service-to-revenue ratio had grown to 111.8%. The anticipated debt crisis may sound like fancy economic jargon to the man on the street, but you and I are in a better position to understand how such miscalculations have played out in other countries. It’s an economic death sentence.
“In plain terms, our debt servicing was such that if you earned, say, N100, 000, the entirety of the money wasn’t only paid to your debtor; you were forced to borrow an additional N11, 800 to pay the debtor. How do you intend to survive this, and how many more loans before you become a pariah?
“We are not even discussing the nation’s budget deficits, diversions of resources from critical sectors of the economy, and corruption masterminded in the subsidy regime.”
“This was because, whether in handling the subsidy matter or the forex crisis, they had also promised the solutions we had adopted. Those who attempted to eat their words were instantly proven wrong by data, history, and their antecedents—those emotionless reality checkers,”
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