‘He saved our economy’ – Shettima defends Tinubu’s tough reforms

Vice President Kashim Shettima has urged Nigerians to give President Bola Tinubu credit for what he described as bold decisions that prevented the country’s economy from collapsing.

Shettima spoke after meeting with Tinubu at the President’s Lagos residence, where he also said the administration had remained in constant communication with the President during his time abroad.

“We are quite thrilled that he is back on the beat, and we have been in regular contact throughout his sojourn abroad,” Shettima said.

According to him, technological advances had made it possible for Tinubu to remain involved in governance despite his absence from the country.

“Advances in science and technology have made it possible to really have impactful leadership wherever one might find himself. So we have been in regular contact. We speak almost every other day, and we are updating him,” he said.

Shettima said Tinubu inherited an economy that was in serious distress, citing the country’s foreign reserves as evidence of the severity of the situation.

“When we assumed the mantle of leadership, our foreign reserves was a staggeringly low 3.9 billion dollars, that was not enough to import oil for one month. He had the courage and the conviction to take far-reaching decisions,” he said.

He specifically defended the removal of petrol subsidy and the unification of the country’s multiple exchange rates, describing both measures as difficult but necessary choices.

“The withdrawal of the fuel subsidy, the realignment of the multiple exchange rates, were far-reaching decisions.”

The Vice President said the measures had helped prevent a deeper economic crisis.

“He literally… the economy was actually teetering on the verge of collapse. He saved the economy. I want Nigerians to understand this fundamental truism.

“We are on the road to Caracas. He saved our economy. He saved the nation from falling to pieces,” Shettima added.

He appealed to Nigerians to be patient with the administration despite the hardship caused by the reforms.

“As usual, impactful decision-making that will touch the lives of the Nigerian people. It’s absolutely essential that Nigerians need to be generous to this poor man,” Shettima said.

“We appreciate the pains Nigerians are going through, but tough times do not last forever. Tough people do,” he added.

Shettima also outlined measures the Federal Government plans to introduce in the North-East to cushion the effects of the economic difficulties.

“In the next couple of weeks, we are going to launch e-logistics in the North East, we are going to run 10,600 electric tricycles to ease the pains of the people in the North East, and 300 buses and taxis, e-taxis. All these were meant to ameliorate the sufferings of our people,” he said.

He further praised the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, describing it as a major intervention for students from low-income backgrounds.

“The president has empathy, a lot of empathy for the common man. The NELFUND is a masterstroke aimed at assisting students of limited means to have access to drink from the Western Spring. So be rest assured that we’ll come up with programmes and projects to ease the pains of the people,” he said.

On the growing political activities ahead of the 2027 elections, Shettima said the administration would continue to focus on governance.

“Politics is in the air, but we will combine politics and governance,” he said.