Tinubu urges Nigerian youths to be “patient” with his economic reforms

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu urged Nigerian youths to exercise patience with his economic reforms under his administration.

The President disclosed this on Thursday in a meeting with the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Youth Leaders from the 36 States and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Since his inauguration on May 29th, the Nigerian government has removed fuel subsidy which has contributed largely to inflation and also enacted a managed float of the naira, which has seen the Naira devalued as part of reforms of the new administration.

Tinubu’s plead


President Bola Tinubu said Nigerian youths need to be patient and understanding with the hardship occasioned by economic initiatives of his administration, adding that the hardships of the moment would eventually give way to a more prosperous, equitable and inclusive economy.

He promised that his administration would include them in governance and decision-making processes, adding:

“I make my pledge to the country that no decision will be difficult for this administration to take for the prosperity and unity of this country. Economic reforms could be slow. Be patient a little more.

“I can assure you that I understand the pains you are going through. It is not easy to get out of the monster of over 40 years called fuel subsidy.’’
He also told the youth leaders that his administration would do everything necessary to widen the net in order to accommodate more women and youths.

The APC founder added that this would be done by ‘liaising with our lending institutions to give micro-loans at a very low-interest rate’ for economic activities among the citizens.

APC National Youth Leader, Mr Abdullahi Israel, said that the visit was to congratulate the president on the party’s victory at the 2023 polls, and assured the president of the continued support of APC youth.

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The removal of fuel subsidy has also come with it challenges and clamour for palliatives, Nairametrics reported recently that following the decision of the National Economic Council (NEC) not to use the social register from the previous administration, led by Muhammadu Buhari, for the implementation of its conditional cash transfer program due to credibility issues.

The Nigerian government announced it is working closely with development partners to strengthen the National Social Registry (NSR) to make it serve as a single database for poverty reduction interventions.

Sen. George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) said the move ensures that the social register reflects the true poverty and vulnerability profile in Nigeria that would support effective targeting of interventions.

Akume also noted that poverty and vulnerability remain pressing challenges in the country, saying that the advent of the Coronavirus has aggravated the problem, citing the current data indicating that 63% of Nigeria’s population “is multi-dimensionally poor”, of which about 70% constituted children.