President Bola Tinubu has explained how the various economic reforms will lead to a significant reduction in the cost of living across the country.
Tinubu explained in his address to the country on Thursday, as the country celebrates its 66th Independence Day anniversary.
According to him, the Federal Government targets a reduction in living costs through cuts in production and costs of transporting consumer goods.
He also mentioned expansion of mechanised irrigation, improving access to seeds and fertilisers, increasing mechanisation and investing in storage and transportation.
“Our priority is to bring down the cost of living. We will achieve this by lowering the cost of producing and moving the things Nigerians consume.
“We have the land and people to feed ourselves.
“My government is therefore focused on expanding mechanised irrigation and dry-season farming, improving access to seeds and fertiliser, holistically increasing mechanisation, and investing in storage and transportation. We are building and completing the roads, railways and ports that connect farms and factories to markets.
“Our logic is simple. When a farmer produces more cheaply, when fewer crops are lost between the farm and the market, when a manufacturer spends less on electricity, when a truck reaches its destination faster, and when the business environment fosters fair competition, all those savings will ultimately find their way into the price of goods in the market.”
Economic Growth
Tinubu, however, noted that economic prosperity was more than cheaper goods. “It requires productive work”, he added.
“Nigeria is a young country.
“Millions of young Nigerians enter adulthood every year with talent, energy and ambition.
“Our responsibility is to ensure that this great demographic strength becomes an engine of production rather than a source of despair.
“We are therefore placing jobs, enterprise, and industrial growth at the heart of our government’s policies.
“We will use our gas to power new industries. We will support businesses that work to bring factories back to life in our great industrial centres.
“ We will expand digital connectivity into communities that have waited too long to participate in the modern economy.
“We will invest in the skills employers demand and support Nigerian businesses with the infrastructure and finance they need to grow.
“I want to see more Nigerians making things. I want to see more Nigerian farms feeding our cities and supplying our factories.
“I want to see Nigerian businesses selling Nigerian goods to the whole world.
“I want young Nigerians building unicorns and creating opportunities for others here at home.
The President acknowledged the current hardship on citizens, which he said did not begin during his administration.
“I am also conscious that millions of our fellow citizens cannot wait for tomorrow. Some Nigerian families still struggle today for the next meal, the next school fee, the next medical bill, or simply enough money to get to work.
“Their circumstances did not begin with the reforms of the last three years.
“Their struggle is the accumulated consequence of decades of low productivity, inadequate infrastructure, insufficient opportunity and institutions that too often failed those who needed them most.”
Tinubu explained that the accumulated hardship could not be erased in four years of his administration.
He, however, assured that through strengthening of direct support to poor households and improving the national register, vulnerable Nigerians can benefit and be able to persevere throughout the period of the reforms.
“We cannot erase in four years what accumulated over generations. But we can change its course.
“We can build an economy that steadily lifts people out of poverty while ensuring that those who remain vulnerable are not abandoned along the way.
“That is why we are strengthening direct support for the poorest households and improving the National Social Register so that assistance reaches those who genuinely need it.”
‘NELFUND, CREDCORP Supporting The Poor, Businesses’
He touched on the education loan through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and CREDI CORP, and how it is helping to support children from low-income households, as well as helping businesses grow across the country.
“It is why the Nigerian Education Loan Fund is ensuring that the child of a low-income family need not surrender the dream of higher education simply because his parents cannot afford the fees.
“It is why CREDICORP is giving working Nigerians access to consumer credit, allowing people to acquire vehicles, solar systems, digital devices and other essential assets without first having to accumulate years of savings.”
The President revealed that the Federal Government is also working with state governments to strengthen healthcare, adding that the pension scheme is also being reformed.
“That is why, working with our states and local governments, we will continue to strengthen primary healthcare, basic education, and the essential public services poorer Nigerians depend on most.
“Since 2023, we have paid salaries and pensions on time and in full. We have reformed the national pension program to benefit retirees and the vulnerable.”
He admitted that although the above measures cannot be equated to economic prosperity, the target is to “manage poverty”.
‘Poverty Defeated’
He assured citizens that poverty will soon be a thing of the past, as the reforms stage is over.
“These programmes are not substitutes for prosperity. They are a bridge to aid our nation’s citizens on their path towards it. Our objective is not to manage poverty more efficiently.
“We will defeat it.
“It will take time. It will require discipline. It will require sustained growth year after year and the creation of millions of productive opportunities across our country.
“But for the first time in decades, we embark on this task from a position of strength; with an economy whose fundamental direction has been corrected. We confronted the difficult choices we faced and have laid the foundations for lasting prosperity. Rather than fail the promise of a better future for our children, the time has come for us to build that future.
“The age of reform has done its work. Now begins the age of prosperity. An age in which the promise of this great nation must finally become the lived experience of Nigerians from all walks of life.
“We have travelled through difficult years together.
“We have made hard decisions together. And now, still together, we must build the country those decisions have made possible.”
He urged citizens to look forward to a brighter future ahead.
“I believe deeply in what lies ahead.
“I believe in the millions of ordinary men and women whose work, courage and determination have always been the true strength of our country. The road ahead will still demand much from us. But we now travel it with firm footing, a clear direction, and renewed hope in our collective future.
“Nigeria has corrected its course. We have passed through our own Red Sea. This is not the time to look back. Let us go forward together, with faith in ourselves, faith in our country, and faith that the sacrifices we have made will yield their reward.
“The Promised Land before us is a Nigeria of abundance and opportunity; a nation where prosperity is broadly shared, where every child can dream beyond the circumstances of his birth, and where our country’s immense promise is finally reflected in the lives of our people.
“Our destination is in sight. Our foundations are strong. Our direction is clear. So let us go forward. No looking back.
“Happy Independence Day, my fellow Nigerians. God bless you all, and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
