Bola Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has appealed to Nigerians for an understanding concerning the current economic situation which has led to the nationwide protest.
Tinubu said this at a nationwide broadcast at 7 a.m on Sunday, where he noted that notably among the protesters are young Nigerians who desire a better and more progressive country where their dreams, hopes, and personal aspirations would be fulfilled.
“I hereby enjoin protesters and the organisers to suspend any further protest and create room for dialogue, which I have always acceded to at the slightest opportunity,” he stated.
Here are 13 numbers highlighted from President Tinubu’s speech.
N9.1 trillion
Tinubu said in the broadcast that for the past 14 months, “our government has made significant strides in rebuilding the foundation of our economy to carry us into a future of plenty and abundance.
“On the fiscal side, aggregate government revenues have more than doubled, hitting over N9.1 trillion in the first half of 2024 compared to the first half of 2023 due to our efforts at blocking leakages, introducing automation, and mobilising funding creatively without additional burden on the people.”
He stated that productivity is gradually increasing in the non-oil sector, reaching new levels and taking advantage of the opportunities in the current economic ambience.
97%
Tinubu also said, “Coming from a place where our country spent 97 percent of all our revenue on debt service; we have been able to reduce that to 68 percent in the last 13 months.
“We have also cleared legitimate outstanding foreign exchange obligations of about $5 billion without any adverse impact on our programmes.”
1.61m barrels
President Tinubu stated that Nigeria’s once-declining oil and gas industry is experiencing a resurgence on the back of the reforms.
“I announced in May 2024 to address the gaps in the Petroleum Industry Act. Last month, we increased our oil production to 1.61 million barrels per day, and our gas assets are receiving the attention they deserve.
“Investors are coming back, and we have already seen two Foreign Direct Investments signed of over half a billion dollars since then,” he said.
“We will be distributing a million kits of extremely low or no cost to commercial vehicles that transport people and goods and who currently consume 80 percent of the imported PMS and AGO,” Tinubu said.
N45.6bn
Tinubu said N45.6 billion has already been processed for payment to students and their respective institutions.
“Our administration has shown its commitment to the youth by setting up the student loan scheme,” he stated.
N200bn
The president of Nigeria said, “We established the Consumer Credit Corporation with over N200 billion to help Nigerians to acquire essential products without the need for immediate cash payments, making life easier for millions of households.
“This will consequently reduce corruption and eliminate cash and opaque transactions.”
N50bn
Tinubu said he ordered the release of an additional N50 billion each for NELFUND – the student loan, and Credit Corporation from the proceeds of crime recovered by the EFCC.
$620m
The President further said, “We have secured $620million under the Digital and Creative Enterprises (IDiCE) – a programme to empower our young people, creating millions of IT and technical jobs that will make them globally competitive.”
He noted that these programmes include the three million Technical Talents Scheme.
“Unfortunately, one of the digital centres was vandalised during the protests in Kano,” he said.
More than N570 billion
He said more than N570 billion has been released to the 36 states to expand livelihood support to their citizens, while 600,000 nano- businesses have benefitted from our nano-grants.
“An additional 400,000 more nano-businesses are expected to benefit,” he said.
75,000 beneficiaries
Tinubu said 75,000 beneficiaries have been processed to receive the N1 million Micro and Small Business single-digit interest loans, starting this month.
“We have also built 10 MSME hubs within the past year, created 240,000 jobs through them and five more hubs are in progress which will be ready by October this year,” he stated.
N1bn
According to Tinubu, “The payments of N1 billion each are also being made to large manufacturers under our single-digit loans to boost manufacturing output and stimulate growth.
“I signed the National Minimum Wage into law last week, and the lowest-earning workers will now earn at least N70,000 a month,” he said.
3,212 units
The President noted that, “Six months ago in Karsana, Abuja, I inaugurated the first phase of our ambitious housing initiative, the Renewed Hope City and Estate.”
He said the project is the first of six his government plans across the nation’s geopolitical zones.
“Each of these cities will include a minimum of 1,000 housing units, with Karsana itself set to deliver 3,212 units,” he stated.
500 housing units
He stated that in addition to these city projects, “We are also launching the Renewed Hope Estates in every state, each comprising 500 housing units.
“Our goal is to complete a total of 100,000 housing units over the next three years,” he said. “This initiative is not only about providing homes but also about creating thousands of jobs across the nation as well as stimulating economic growth.”
10 million hectares of land
The president of Nigeria said he has been meeting with governors and key ministers to accelerate food production.
“We have distributed fertilisers. Our target is to cultivate more than 10 million hectares of land to grow what we eat,” Tinubu stated.
He said the Federal Government will provide all necessary incentives for this initiative, whilst the states provide the land, which will put millions of our people to work and further increase food production.
“In the past few months, we have also ordered mechanised farming equipment such as tractors and planters, worth billions of Naira from the United State, Belarus, and Brazil. I can confirm to you that the equipment is on the way,” he said.
