.Approves N100bn to buy 3000 units of 20-seater CNG-fuelled buses
.No going back on subsidy removal, floating Naira
. ‘N75bn loan to fund 75 enterprises, create jobs coming’
Adekunle Adesuji, Abuja
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday disclosed that he came on board to serve and help in rebuilding defects in the nation’s economy adding that the people who are benefiting from defective economy will use every meana to fight back .
Tinubu in nationwide broadcast to address current economic challenges said his administration has concluded plans to deploy 3000 units of 20-seater CNG-fuelled buses at a cost of N100billion.
According to him, “Part of our programme is to roll out buses across the states and local governments for mass transit at a much more affordable rate. We have made provision to invest N100 billion between now and March 2024 to acquire 3000 units of 20-seater CNG-fuelled” buses”.
He also said that to further ensure that prices of food items remain affordable, his administration have had a multi-stakeholder engagement with various farmers’ associations and operators within the agricultural value chain.
He added that plan to support cultivation of 500,000 hectares of farmland and all-year-round farming practice remains on course.
In his words, “the defects in our economy immensely profited a tiny elite, the elite of the elite you might call them. As we moved to fight the flaws in the economy, the people who grow rich from them, predictably, will fight back through every means necessary.
“Our economy is going through a tough path and you are being hurt by it. The cost of fuel has gone up. Food and other prices have followed it. Households and businesses struggle. Things seem anxious and uncertain. I understand the hardship you face. I wish there were other ways. But there is not. If there were, I would have taken that route as I came here to help not hurt the people and nation that I love.
“What I can offer in the immediate is to reduce the burden our current economic situation has imposed on all of us, most especially on businesses, the working class and the most vulnerable among us.
“Already, the Federal Government is working closely with states and local governments to implement interventions that will cushion the pains of our people across socio-economic brackets.
“Earlier this month, I signed four (4) Executive Orders in keeping with my electoral promise to address unfriendly fiscal policies and multiple taxes that are stifling the business environment. These Executive Orders on suspension and deferred commencement of some taxes will provide the necessary buffers and headroom to businesses in manufacturing sector to continue to thrive and expand.
“To strengthen the manufacturing sector, increase its capacity to expand and create good paying jobs, we are going to spend N75 billion between July 2023 and March 2024. Our objective is to fund 75 enterprises with great potential to kick-start a sustainable economic growth, accelerate structural transformation and improve productivity. Each of the 75 manufacturing enterprises will be able to access N1billion credit at 9% per annum with maximum of 60 months repayment for long term loans and 12 months for working capital.
“Our administration recognises the importance of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and the informal sector as drivers of growth. We are going to energise this very important sector with N125 billion.
”Out of the sum, we will spend N50 billion on Conditional Grant to 1 million nano businesses between now and March 2024. Our target is to give N50,000 each to 1,300 nano business owners in each of the 774 local governments across the country. ”
Meanwhile Tinubu has said that ending fuel subsidy and preferential exchange rate system was a fight to define the fate and future of the country
He assured Nigerians of his commitment to reform the economy for the long term good by fighting the major imbalances that had plagued the economy.
He said that he had promised to reform the economy for the long-term good by fighting the major imbalances that had plagued the nation’s economy, stressing that ending the subsidy and the preferential exchange rate system were key to this fight.
He said; “This fight is to define the fate and future of our nation. Much is in the balance. Thus, the defects in our economy immensely profited a tiny elite, the elite of the elite you might call them.
“As we moved to fight the flaws in the economy, the people who grow rich from them, predictably, will fight back through every means necessary.
