The Nigerian economy is reportedly back on track, according to Senator Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, as the country celebrates two years under President Bola Tinubu’s government.
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Mallam Aminu Suleiman, a member of the recently established North West Development Commission (NWDC), has pleaded with Nigerians to be patient with President Tinubu, saying that the two years he has been in office have been more productive than the eight years of the previous administration.
After paying President Tinubu a courtesy visit at his Lagos mansion on Saturday night, Bagudu spoke on Saturday night to praise the administration’s economic policies, saying that Nigeria is finally seeing the results of much-needed structural reforms. These steps have turned the economy in the right direction,” Bagudu said, “but we’re not where we want to be.”
A key move, the minister said, was the elimination of expensive subsidies on petrol, foreign currency and power by the Tinubu administration. Even paying salaries was difficult” due to decades of underinvestment, he claimed.
We were able to free up resources by reducing these subsidies. Local, state, and subnational governments now have approximately three times as much funding as they did before. That has a profound impact.
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According to Bagudu, these money are going towards important areas including digital innovation, consumer credit, infrastructure, agriculture, and human capital development.
“We are not talking about empty promises here. Security, education, and economic empowerment are receiving meaningful allocations, he noted.
Investor confidence is on the rise again, thanks to these reforms, says Bagudu. The amount of investment is one of the main factors that distinguishes industrialised nations from developing ones. Official and non-official. Some years of neglect have finally caught up with us. He proclaimed it to be a Herculean task, but it was essential to the reforms.
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Private investment, both at home and abroad, is making a triumphant comeback. Again, Nigeria is attracting considerable attention from investors. In their view, the government is making difficult but essential decisions.
Bagudu compared the initial initiatives of the administration to constructing a solid base. If you can’t see the walls yet, it could seem like no work has been done when someone begins by filling the hole under a house. But Tinubu, the president, has been forthright. Starting off, he made it clear: “We’re in a hole, not because we want to blame the past, but because critical decisions were delayed for too long.”
Bagudu claimed that supporters’ faith in Tinubu’s leadership is evident in the increasing number of opposition politicians, including governors from Delta and Akwa Ibom States, who are joining the All Progressives Congress (APC).
They’ve come right out and said it: the honesty and guidance of this leadership is the main reason they joined. Politics has nothing to do with that. He described it as having faith in a future being created with bravery and foresight.
As Nigerians rejoice in Eid and mark the passing of the Tinubu administration’s half-century in office, “the administration’s reforms are working, investments are rising, despite challenges besetting the country,” the minister declared.
After paying respect to the president at his Ikoyi mansion in Lagos for Sallah, Suleiman spoke to press and lauded Tinubu’s leadership, stating that Tinubu is preparing the country for long-term change.
“The two years under Tinubu are even better than the eight years under the previous administration,” Suleiman remarked. “I have faith that he will revolutionise Nigeria if given the opportunity to serve a full four years.”
Suleiman was also pleased that Tinubu had included the North West in his development plan, especially with the NWDC being set up.
According to him, there are almost 19 million people living in this area, making it the largest populous zone in the North. “I am confident that we will make sure everything goes well, Insha Allah, and I think it’s great that the North West is being included.”
He emphasized that with the President’s track record in Lagos, especially in infrastructure, governance, and institution-building, there is every reason to believe that similar transformation can be replicated across Nigeria. In Lagos, he accomplished it. We have faith that he will accomplish it on behalf of the entire nation.
Suleiman also urged Nigerians to trust in the leadership and vision of President Tinubu. “Wait a minute. The groundwork is being prepared firmly. Results will become apparent to everyone in due course.