President Bola Tinubu said his administration is providing safety nets to protect Nigerians worst-hit by the economic reforms.
Tinubu cited the recent resumption of the social investment programmes as announced by the Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun, after Monday’s Federal Executive Council meeting, who said the six-week hiatus had enhanced its operations.
“These programmes will, therefore, ensure that the burden of the subsidy removal is shared equitably and that the most vulnerable among us are protected,” Tinubu said when he gave the keynote address at the seventh Nigeria International Energy Summit at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, Tuesday.
Upon assuming office nine months ago, the Tinubu administration discontinued subsidies on petrol, which, he said, would save the government monies for infrastructural expansion.
He also unified the foreign exchange rates, moves that have sparked instability in the value of the Naira and heaped hardship on Nigerians as food prices continue to soar.
However, the President has insisted that the country is on a recovery path.
Addressing participants at the summit, Tinubu, represented by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said, “The decision to remove petroleum subsidy is a challenging one. But it is a step we must all take to secure our energy future and foster economic growth and development.
“The petroleum subsidy has, over the years, strained our economic resources, leading to inefficiencies and, most importantly, hindering our ability to invest in critical areas of energy security.
“By removing subsidies, we are creating a more transparent and accountable energy future. The funds that were previously allocated to subsidising petroleum products are now redirected towards developing and upgrading our energy and other social infrastructure.”
He cited recent figures from the National Bureau of Statistics, which showed an improved domestic capacity to produce oil by 8 per cent, a drop in petrol consumption by over a billion litres and capital import improving by about 66 per cent.
Acknowledging the immediate impact of these reforms on citizens, especially those with lower incomes, Tinubu said his administration was committed to continuing social intervention programmes that will ensure that “the burden of the subsidy removal is shared equitably.”
