The Bola Ahmed Tinubu Vanguard (BAT Vanguard) has urged state governments and the citizens to give their total support to the Federal Government to cushion the effects of hardship Nigerians are currently passing through as a result of economic reforms the government has embarked on.
The national convener, BAT Vanguard, Honourable Sola Olofin, stated this during a world press conference to mark the one-year anniversary of the Renewed Hope Agenda of Tinubu’s administration.
According to Olofin, the President is leaving no stone unturned in his drive to see that the present hardship is subdued in a matter of time. He however pleaded for patience on the part of the citizens saying the agricultural drive that the Federal Government has embarked on will start yielding results very soon.
“I can tell you emphatically that Mr President is so passionate about Nigerians, passionate about the masses and is putting everything in motion to ensure that the hardship is subdued. The President is currently embarking on agricultural development and in the next one month there is a plan to ensure that food supply chain is improved upon. I believe that when people are able to produce what they can eat and there is a surplus of food, the hardship will subside.
“The President has equally ensured that the embargo has been lifted to allow food items to be imported into the country. With all these measures to ensure, that there are food surplus, we are just appealing that people should be patient to see the results of what is happening.
“For instance, under Tinubu’s government, in agriculture government has increased the supply of subsidised fertiliser, supply of farm inputs such as seedlings and implements, and expansion of investment in agricultural irrigation to increase food production. These efforts by the government have been on the increase to ensure food security,” Olofin said.
Olofin lauded the President on his ongoing reforms to stabilise the economy, freeing of hostages held by non-state actors, recruitment of security personnel, the establishment of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform Committee to reform the tax system and reduce the tax burden on the citizens among others. He called on the President to also focus more on security so that farmers can access their farms to boost food production as well as see that the country’s refineries are functional to cut the cost of importation of fuel and redirect such into the economy.
Also in their contributions, Dr O’diakpo Obire, Comrade Dare Balogun and Barrister Onyoche Lawani, the patron, national publicity secretary and national secretary of BAT Vanguard respectively, called on the state governors to deliver more democratic dividends to the citizens by reviving the Ministries of Agriculture in their various states to boost food production, especially now that state governments are receiving more money from the Federation Account.
“We are running federating states. And not long ago, through the intervention of the Federal Government in partnership with the Niger State government, for the first time in our history, 1,000 tractors were launched to kickstart mechanised farming that we’ve been pushing for.
“And if most states follow the example of Niger State, we would not only be able to feed ourselves, we would be able to export, generate dollars so as to ease unnecessary pressure on the naira as a result of importation. So as much as we want to look in the direction of the Federal Government which is already doing a lot and will continue to do more, that I can assure of, but all attention should also be focused on the state governments who are now receiving more money that before,” Balogun said.
For Obire, governance is the responsibility of everybody and not just those who are running the affairs of the country. He also charged citizens to play their roles to make the country better.
“The state governments have responsibilities when it comes to tackling the situation of our economy. The governors have relaxed for too long and they need to wake up from their slumber because every state has a Ministry of Agriculture but I bet you not one that is performing as expected.
“Even for us as citizens, we need to stop the attitude of indiscriminate increase of price of things because of the situation around us. Some of these prices that are going up are not by the indices of our economy, they are created by our people through artificial inflation that is affecting the common man.”
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