President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has posited that Nigeria’s economy is not in distress as widely assumed.
He disclosed this in Tuesday at the Leadership conference and awards, which took place at Transcorp Hilton in Abuja.
Recently, the prices of food and basic items have skyrocketed which has led to protests in many parts of the country.
Amid the rising price of food items, the naira is deprecating in the foreign exchange market.
Represented by Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, Tinubu said the country is only facing challenging times marked with “unprecedented opportunities to reset” the economy.
He noted that N200 billion has been set aside to support Nigerian businesses, in addition to the student loan scheme and the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles initiative.
“I should start by respectfully challenging the notion that the Nigerian economy is in distress,” he said.
“Distress suggests helplessness, being at the mercy of something we have no control over. But that is not the case here.
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“We are in challenging times, no doubt, but these times have also been marked by unprecedented opportunities, to reset course and to build a new and sustainable economy, away from the rent-seeking and the waste that was once the order of the day.”
According to him, since the removal of the petrol subsidy, the funds allocated to the three tiers of the government have increased.
“For the poorest and most vulnerable among us, the social investment programme, currently under review to reposition it for maximum impact, will support millions of households with direct cash transfers that will enable them to meet their basic needs.
“Since we assumed office in May 2023, we have attracted $30 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) commitments into the real sectors of the economy, including manufacturing, telecoms, healthcare, oil & gas, and others.
“Those investments have already started coming into the country. Just a few days ago, I was in Qatar on an official visit, where the Emir assured me that a senior government delegation would visit Nigeria after Ramadan, to begin taking action on some of the new investments they are looking at here.”
