The Minister of Steel Development, Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, has announced that the ongoing reforms in the steel sector will create over 500,000 direct and indirect jobs. This move is part of the federal government’s efforts to diversify the economy and address the current economic challenges facing the country.
According to the minister, the reforms aim to revive the steel plants and attract Foreign Direct Investments, which will lead to a significant increase in employment opportunities in the sector. Audu made this known in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Lizzy Okoji, in Abuja on Friday.
The minister appealed to Nigerians to suspend the nationwide protests against the current administration and resort to dialogue to address their concerns and expectations. He assured citizens that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is working assiduously to fix the country’s challenges and that the policies of the current administration will drive Nigeria to economic prosperity.
“I want to appeal to my fellow Nigerians to please suspend the nationwide protests against the current administration and let us resort to dialogue to address all our concerns and expectations from the President Tinubu led administration,” he said.
“Mr. President has shown countless times his concern for the plight of Nigerians, with the recent implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage for workers, driving the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) initiative with CNG vehicles to cushion the impact of the removal of fuel subsidy which will reduce the cost of transportation by at least 70 percent.
“Responsive to the challenges of the masses in the face of the ongoing reforms, President Tinubu directed the disbursement of N50,000 uplift grants each to over 100,000 families per state for three months thereby impacting close to 5 million families nationwide.”
Audu highlighted the achievements of President Tinubu’s administration, including the implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage, the Compressed Natural Gas initiative, and the disbursement of N50,000 uplift grants to over 100,000 families per state for three months. He also mentioned the measures being taken to address high food prices and strengthen the health sector.
The minister commended the people of Kogi State for not participating in the protest and instead resorting to dialogue and collaborative efforts with the state government. He urged Nigerians to shun the protest, citing intelligence reports of miscreants planning to hijack the protest and cause mayhem.
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