Vice President Kashim Shettima says President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s bold and hard policies, including the removal of petroleum subsidy are gradually transforming Nigeria into one of the largest economies in the world.
Shettima said this on Tuesday when he received a delegation from the Harvard Kennedy School Alumni on a Nigeria-Ghana Trek at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He assured that measures being put in place to address the challenges caused by the subsidy removal, such as alternative energy sources, and investment in green technology would soon improve the living standard of Nigerians.
According to Shettima, President Tinubu is a good leader who is burning in an unquenchable desire to make Nigeria work.
“When we took the mantle of leadership, the greatest albatross around the neck of the Nigerian government over the past 50 years had been subsidy on petroleum products.
“We came to a point where we either get rid of the subsidy or the subsidy will get rid of the Nigerian nation.
“So, my boss (President Tinubu) took the bullet, and we knew that if we failed to address the fuel subsidy scam within the first three weeks of the administration, we wouldn’t dare to do that again.
“In his inaugural address, he took the bullet and announced the removal of the fuel subsidy.
“We should know the consequences of unveiling a masquerade; they came after us. We stood our ground and the fuel subsidy was gone,” he said.
The vice president noted that apart from the social palliatives, the administration was exploring alternative energy sources.
“We are investing massively in green technology – electric buses, electric cars and electric tricycles.
“Just two weeks ago, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved an expenditure of N158 billion for the procurement of those items for the North East and it will be replicated in other sub-regions of the country.”
Shettima also said the realignment of the multiple exchange rate was another bold decision by President Tinubu which saved the country from corruption in the foreign exchange market.
“There was no need for you to work. If you had contacts, if you had goodwill in the Central Bank, they could allocate 50 million dollars to you at the official exchange rate, which was around N300-N400 to the dollars.
“You could make a premium of N300 from the black market without lifting a finger. You can make $30 million within a week or two.
“Our fiscal policy and tax reforms, are also very monumental decision by the government of President Tinubu. Some of the decisions were very hard decisions.
“As I said, leadership is not a popularity contest. If you want to be popular, be a nice man, Tinubu may not be a nice man but he is a good leader, and that is what leadership is all about. And we have to make this country work.”
The Vice-President urged the delegation to ignore the negative narratives about Nigeria and focus on the development strides of the government.
Earlier, the leader of the group, Sheffy Kolade, said she represented a group of four West Africans who had invited 50 of their colleagues and friends on a Nigeria-Ghana Trek.
“This is to move from curiosity on the outfit, colour of the skin, to learning where exactly Nigeria, the most populous black nation in the world, is heading,” she said.
She explained that a lot of the Harvard students have taken courses on Africa, African policies, and history.
She added that the visit to the Vice President of Nigeria would give them first hand information about the programmes and policies of government.
Also, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, Dr Olajumoke Oduwole, stated that Nigeria is leveraging on the trade policy with WTO, with a particular focus on the African Continental Free Trade Area.
She said Nigeria is pushing for export diversification away from oil and gas, stressing that though much of her earnings come from it, priority now is on technology which attracts about 70 per cent of the GDP.
Contributing, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun said Nigeria has made significant progress over the last 20 months under the leadership of President Tinubu,
He said the figure recently announced showed that inflation is falling, exchange rate stable, price of food items is lower, the prices of energy and petroleum products are lower too.
Edun added that the fiscal deficit showed there commitment to prudence by the government.
The Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Mrs Olu Verheijen, thanked the Harvard alumni for the visit.
She said in the energy sector, there had been a lot of structural reforms.
According to her, although the sector contributes less than 10 per cent of the GDP, the country relies on it for foreign exchange earnings.