Tinubu Participates in 2024 World Economic Forum Panel Session, Says He’ll Alleviate Hardship

Amidst persistent hardship, President Bola Tinubu has stated that removing fuel subsidies in Nigeria saved the country from bankruptcy. He said this on Sunday during a panel session at the ongoing World Economic Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Tinubu announced the removal of the subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) in March 2023. This was during his inaugural speech. Despite the challenges faced by Nigerians, Tinubu argued that the action was necessary for the country’s economic stability and growth.

He said,

For Nigeria, we are immensely consistent with the belief that economic collaboration and inclusiveness is necessary to engender stability in the rest of the world.

Concerning the question of the subsidy removal, there is no doubt that it was a necessary action for my country not to go bankrupt, to reset the economy and pathway to growth.

It is going to be difficult, but the hallmark of leadership is taking difficult decisions at the time it ought to be taken decisively. That was necessary for the country, he said.

Being one of the panellists, Tinubu stressed the importance of accountability, transparency, and fiscal discipline – which are virtues arguably lacking among Nigerian leaders and public servants. Acknowledging the difficulties arising from subsidy removal, Tinubu assured that measures were in place to cushion its impact on vulnerable populations.

He said,

Yes, there will be blowback; there is an expectation that the difficulty in it will be felt by a more significant number of the people, but once I believe it is their interest that is the focus of the government, it is easier to manage and explain the difficulties.

Along the line, there is a parallel arrangement to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal on the country’s vulnerable population. We share the pain across the board; we cannot but include those who are vulnerable.

Luckily, we have a very vibrant youthful population interested in discoveries by themselves, and they are highly ready for technology, good education committed to growth. We can manage that and partition the economic drawback and the fallout of subsidy removal, the president said.

He also addressed concerns about naira devaluation and exchange rate unification. According to him, these decisions aimed to enhance the competitiveness of the Naira and eliminate corruption. Bloomberg, in recent weeks, raised an alarm over the depletion of Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves in a bid to sustain its local currency.

Despite impressive gains in the past month, the naira has begun to depreciate- reaching ₦1,400/$ on Friday 26. While this indicates loopholes in Nigeria’s economic policies, Tinubu expressed confidence in the government’s ability to manage hardship through inclusive governance and effective communication.

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