President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said that his administration’s removal of fuel subsidies and foreign exchange liberation policies have positioned Nigeria at the forefront of economic growth.
Tinubu stressed the importance of making difficult decisions to reposition the country’s economy and ensure its growth.
He spoke about the need for currency management to remove corrupt arbitrage and opaqueness, allowing the local currency to compete with others globally.
While acknowledging the challenges and drawbacks, Tinubu revealed confidence in the government’s ability to manage the situation through inclusivity and communication.
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The President made that revelation in a statement by his spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale at a high-level panel session at the World Economic Forum, WEF, Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday.
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He said:
“Concerning the question of subsidy removal, there is no doubt that it was a necessary action for my country not to go bankrupt and to reset the economy and the pathway to growth. It was going to be difficult, but the hallmark of leadership is making difficult decisions when they need to be made.
“That was necessary for the country. Yes, there have been drawbacks. Yes, there was an expectation that more people would feel the difficulty. But, of course, our people’s interest was the government’s primary focus.
“Along the line, there was an arrangement to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal on the country’s vulnerable population. We shared the pain across the board. We cannot but include those who are very vulnerable.
“Luckily, we have a very vibrant youth population interested in innovation and highly ready to leverage technology and good education, and they remain committed to growth.
“We managed that and partitioned the economic drawback and the fallout of the subsidy removal equally, engendering transparency, accountability, and fiscal discipline for the country. And that is most important, focusing on what direction we should head in. I will pursue that rigorously.”
