SPEECH BY THE MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND NATIONAL ORIENTATION, MOHAMMED IDRIS, AT A WORLD PRESS CONFERENCE HELD ON WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2024 AT THE NATIONAL PRESS CENTER, ABUJA
After one year in office, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has performed creditably in laying the foundation for a Nigeria that would be economically viable, sufficient, and secure, so much that the dispensing of energy to organize a ‘national protest’ by some Nigerians, would be better put towards looking into the several opportunities available to Nigerians by the Tinubu administration.
A pushback to current policies of the government in the guise of protests only indicates the inability of the organisers of the ‘protests’ to come to terms with the realistic conditions necessary for growth and development; and in the case of Nigeria, a retooling of our economic system, provision of grand-scale infrastructure, investment in health, agriculture, human capacity through the student loans, amongst several others.
One key development in the wake of the petroleum subsidy removal – the energy transition from petroleum to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), for vehicles and other machinery, opens a world of opportunities for Nigerians to massively participate in the vast value chain of the CNG energy transition, which requires infrastructure rollout across Nigeria.
The Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative will bring down transportation costs for Nigerians by as much as 50 percent, while also unlocking the nation’s huge potential in the gas sector. CNG conversion centers are growing exponentially across the country, creating more job opportunities. Since the launch of the initiative last year, we have seen over USD 50 million in private-sector investments in setting up CNG conversion and fueling facilities nationwide. Nigerians should please key into this wealth-creating sector.
The Federal Government has also made available 30,000 kits for the conversion of 30,000 petrol-powered commercial vehicles to CNG-powered engines at no cost within the next 90 days. Also, the first batch of CNG Mass Transit Buses procured by the Federal Government for distribution to the 36 states and FCT have arrived.
To further cushion the effects of the petroleum subsidy removal, the Tinubu administration introduced the Presidential Grants and Loans Scheme, with the disbursement of the N50,000 grant under the 50 Billion Naira Grants component of the Scheme, and it is ongoing. So far, over 600,000 Nigerians have received N50,000 grants across the 774 Local Government Areas.
Also, disbursement of the N150 billion MSME and Manufacturing loans will commence after the completion of the ongoing final stage of verification, by August. The MSME loans will expectedly stimulate industry and Nigerians need to seize the opportunity.
President Tinubu’s commitment to the welfare of Nigerian workers is evident in his approval of a New National Minimum Wage of N70,000 which the National Assembly has passed and transmitted to President Tinubu who has assented to the bill (now an Act). This time around, the minimum wage will be reviewed every three years to reflect and reconcile neweconomic realities and living standards with workers’ remuneration. If we recall, the soon-to-expire national minimum wage was N35,000, now increased by more than 100 percent.
To swiftly commence the payment of the new minimum wage, the National Assembly has also approved an N6.2 trillion supplementary budget sent to it by the Federal Government, out of which, about N3 trillion will be expended to cover the minimum wage and augment salaries to be paid under the new national minimum wage.
Unarguably, one of Nigeria’s drawbacks to rural socioeconomic development has been the non-receipts of federal allocations to elected Local Government Administrations in more than 20 years, thus President Tinubu's landmark move to implement Local Government Autonomy by approaching the Supreme Court for a decisive verdict. This is a testament to his administration’s commitment to restructuring the nation, strengthening governance and development at the grassroots, and entrenching effectiveness and accountability in local government administration.
With this game-changing institutional empowerment, local governments will witness unprecedented socio-economic transformation. The Federal Government will ensure that the Supreme Court judgment is enforced as intended.
Strategic Interventions: The Tinubu administration is undoubtedly the most youth-friendly government in Nigeria’s history, with a swathe of policies to match the entrepreneurial spirit of young Nigerians.
Nigeria Education Loan (NEL Fund): One of the most defining approaches to easing the burden of tertiary education tuition payments on parents is the newly introduced Nigeria Education Loan (NEL-Fund), with enoughbudget to cover two million students. The Fund is active with cheques to some beneficiaries who in addition to tuition, also collect upkeep stipends. So far, over 110,000 applications have been received. All successful applicants starting fresh academic sessions will get credited without delay.
At this juncture, while there’s more to say about the successes of President Tinubu administration, I will like to pause here for our distinguished guest, His Excellency Senator George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
Mohammed Idris
Minister of Information and National Orientation.
July 31, 2024
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