Vice President Kashim Shettima again on Monday defended the policies of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration amid the current hardship Nigerians are facing owing to the parlous state of the economy and reflected in the soaring prices of commodities and the inability of many Nigerians to afford the basic necessities of life.
The Vice President told his audience on Monday in Abuja during the 30th anniversary of the Nigerian Economic Summit (NES), that the picture of the suffering in the land was always before the President and himself and that their policies were aimed at making the future better.
According to Shettima: “Some of the policy decisions, the policy options available are painful, but they are almost inevitable. My heart and the heart of President Bola Tinubu go to the Nigerian people.
“We empathise with what the poor and the young are going through in the Nigerian nation but we have no option. Some of these decisions are unpopular but the truth is most often the truth that men prepare not to hear.”
The removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol and the floating of the naira against other foreign currencies, are considered two of the most telling policies, that have seen prices of petrol jump from N198 to N1,030 in just about a year after Tinubu’s government, the Nigerian currency plummeted to N1,600 to a dollar from the initial N700 during the period.
Against the backdrop of prices hitting the roof as a result and the massive suffering, the VP said: “Like many other nations, Nigeria has experienced significant economic problems over the past few years.
“The challenges have been global as well as domestic, ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic and fluctuation of oil prices to internal security issues, inflation and structural weaknesses in our economy. Nigeria’s growth trajectory has been volatile, heavily dependent on oil revenue and unable to create enough jobs.”