Full text of President Tinubu’s address to Nigerians on current economic challenges.

The President’s speech came two months after he announced the removal of fuel subsidies in his inauguration speech on Monday, May 29, 2023.

In his speech, he explained why his administration needs to do away with fuel subsidies and the multiple exchange rate system.

I want to talk to you about our economy. You must understand why I have taken policy measures to combat the severe economic challenges this nation has long faced.

2. I will not talk under challenging terms by dwelling on economic jargon and concepts. I will speak in plain, clear language so that you know where I stand. More importantly, so that you see and hopefully will share my vision regarding the journey to a better, more productive economy for our beloved country.

3. For several years, I have consistently maintained the position that the fuel subsidy had to go. This once beneficial measure had outlived its usefulness. The support costs us trillions of Naira yearly. Such a vast sum of money would have been better spent on public transportation, healthcare, schools, housing and national security. Instead, it was funnelled into a select group of individuals’ deep pockets and lavish bank accounts.

4. This group had amassed so much wealth and power that they became a serious threat to the fairness of our economy and the integrity of our democratic governance. To be blunt, Nigeria could never become the society it intended to be as long as such small, powerful, yet unelected groups hold enormous influence over our political economy and its institutions.

5. The whims of the few should never hold dominant sway over the hopes and aspirations of the many. To be a democracy, the people and not the power of money must be sovereign.

6. The preceding administration saw this looming danger as well. Indeed, it made no provision in the 2023 Appropriations for subsidy after June this year. Removal of this once helpful device that had transformed into a millstone around the country’s neck had become inevitable.

7. Also, the multiple exchange rate system that had been established became nothing but a highway of currency speculation. It diverted money that should have been used to create jobs, build factories and businesses for millions. Our national wealth was doled on favourable terms to a handful of people who have been made filthy rich simply by moving money from one hand to another. This, too, was highly unfair.

8. It also compounded the threat that the illicit and mass accumulation of money posed to the future of our democratic system and its economy.

9. I had promised to reform the economy for the long-term good by fighting the significant imbalances plaguing our economy. Ending the subsidy and the preferential exchange rate system was critical to this fight. This fight is to define the fate and future of our nation. Much is in the balance.

Full text of President Tinubu’s address to Nigerians on current economic challenges

10. Thus, the defects in our economy immensely profited a tiny elite, the elite of the elite, you might call them. As we move to fight the flaws in the economy, the people who grow rich from them, predictably, will fight back through every means necessary.

11. Our economy is going through a tough patch, and you are being hurt. The cost of fuel has gone up. Food and other prices have followed it. Households and businesses struggle. Things seem anxious and uncertain.

I understand the hardship you face. I wish there were other ways. But there is not. If there were, I would have taken that route as I came here to help, not hurt the people and nation t love.

12. I can immediately offer to reduce the burden our current economic situation has imposed on all of us, especially on businesses, the working class and the most vulnerable.

13. the Federal Government works closely with states and local governments to implement interventions to cushion our people’s pains across socio-economic brackets.

14. Earlier this month, I signed four (4) Executive Orders in keeping with my electoral promise to address unfriendly fiscal policies and multiple taxes that are stifling the business environment. These Executive Orders on suspension and deferred commencement of some taxes will provide the necessary buffers and headroom for businesses in the manufacturing sector to continue to thrive and expand.

15. To strengthen the manufacturing sector and increase its capacity to expand and create good-paying jobs, we will spend N75 billion between July 2023 and March 2024. We aim to fund 75 enterprises with great potential to kick-start sustainable economic growth, accelerate structural transformation and improve productivity.

Each of the 75 manufacturing enterprises will be able to access N1 Billion credit at 9% per annum with a maximum of 60 months of repayment for long-term loans and 12 months for working capital.

16. Our administration recognizes the importance of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and the informal sector as growth drivers. We are going to energize this vital sector with N125 billion.

17. Out of the sum, we will spend N50 billion on a Conditional Grant to 1 million nano businesses between now and March 2024. We aim to give N50,000 each to 1,300 nano business owners nationwide in the 774 local governments.

18. Ultimately, this programme will further drive financial inclusion by onboarding beneficiaries into the formal banking system. In like manner, we will fund 100,000 MSMEs and start-ups with N75 billion. Under this scheme, each enterprise promoter can get between N500,000 to NN1 million at 9% interest per annum and a repayment period of 36 months.

19. To further ensure that prices of food items remain affordable, we have had a multi-stakeholder engagement with various farmers’ associations and operators within the agricultural value chain.

20. In the short and immediate terms, we will ensure staple foods are available and affordable. To this end, I have ordered the release of 200,000 Metric Tonnes of grains from strategic reserves to households across the 36 states and FCT to moderate prices. We also provide 225,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer, seedlings and other inputs to farmers committed to our food security agenda.

Full text of President Tinubu’s address to Nigerians on current economic challenges

21. Our plan to support the ccultivating500,000 hectares of farmland and all-year-round farming practice remains on course. To be specific, N200 billion out of the N500 billion approved by the National Assembly will be disbursed as follows:

-Our administration will invest N50 billion each to cultivate 150,000 hectares of rice and maize.

-N50 billion each will also be earmarked to cultivate 100,000 hectares of wheat and cassava.

22. This expansive agricultural programme will target small-holder farmers and leverage large-scale private sector players in the agric business with solid performance records.

23. In this regard, the expertise of Development Finance Institutions, commercial banks and microfinance banks will be tapped into to develop a viable and appropriate transaction structure for all stakeholders.

24. Fellow Nigerians, I solemnly pledge to work for you. Improving your welfare and living condition is paramount to me, and it’s the only thing that keeps me up day and night.

25. I approved the Infrastructure Support Fund for the States in light of this. This new Infrastructure Fund will enable States to intervene and invest in critical areas, relieve many of the pain points, and revamp our decaying healthcare and educational Infrastructure.

26. The fund will also improve rural access roads to ease the evacuation of farm produce to markets. With the fund, our states will become more competitive and on a firmer financial footing to deliver economic prosperity to Nigerians.

27. Part of our programme is to roll out buses across the states and local governments for mass transit at a much more affordable rate. We have made provision to invest N100 billion between now and March 2024 to acquire 3000 units of 20-seater CNG-fuelled buses.

28. These buses will be shared with major transportation companies in the states, using the intensity of travel per capita. Participating transport companies can access credit under this facility at 9% per annum with 60 months repayment period.

29. Similarly, we are collaborating with the Labour unions to introduce a new national minimum wage for workers. I want to tell our workers this: your salary review is coming.

30. We will make budget provisions for immediate implementation Once we agree on the new minimum wage and general upward review.

Full text of President Tinubu’s address to Nigerians on current economic challenges

31. I want to use this opportunity to salute many private employers in the Organized Private Sector who have already implemented employee general salary reviews.

32. Fellow Nigerians, this period may be challenging, and there is no doubt that it is tough on us. But I urge you to look beyond the present temporary pains and aim at the larger picture. All of our excellent and helpful plans are in the works. More importantly, I know that they will work.

33. Sadly, there was an unavoidable lag between subsidy removal and these plans coming fully online. However, we are swiftly closing the time gap. I plead with you to please have faith in our ability to deliver and our concern for your well-being.

34. We will get out of this turbulence. And, due to our measures, Nigeria will be better equipped and able to take advantage of the future that awaits her.

35. In a little over two months, we have saved over a trillion Naira that would have been squandered on the unproductive fuel subsidy, which only benefitted smugglers and fraudsters. That money will now be used directly and beneficially for you and your families.

36. For example, we shall fulfil our promise to make education more affordable to all and provide loans to higher education students who may need them. No Nigerian student will have to abandon his or her education because of lack of money.

37. Our commitment is to promote the greatest good for the most significant number of our people. On this principle, we shall never falter.

38. We also monitor the exchange rate’s and inflation’s effects on gasoline prices. If and when necessary, we will intervene.

39. I assure you, my fellow countrymen and women, that we are exiting the darkness to enter a new and glorious dawn.

40. I must return to work to make this vision come true.

41. Thank you all for listening, and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.