.As APC chieftain tells President to reduce cost of governance
Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume has released 20 nuggets on how President Bola Tinubu intended to transform Nigeria.
He said Tinubu came prepared and came with a plan, saying that he knew what to do and he is doing it.
Nugget 1: As a Government, we have heard your cries about fuel price increases, and be rest assured, we are working round the clock to normalize and bring solutions that ease the pain. Our job is to give you the quality of life you deserve when you wake up. So far, we are on course.
Nugget 2: To this end, we are already working out modalities to ensure market forces normalize pricing while we drive policies that better your lives and boost your earning power. We have a clear economic restoration plan, so I urge you to trust the process. #EconomicRestoration
Nugget 3: We need your understanding, cooperation and buy-in to properly harness our energy sector potential to fuel economic growth. Because we intend to diversify our economy to improve your living conditions, we cannot continue to operate as we always did in the past.
Nugget 4: At a mere 7%, Nigeria’s Revenue to GDP ratio (when we took over) was among the five lowest in the world. To reset this bleak reality, we must diversify our economy and address our perennial oil and gas challenges, else we will just be moving round and round in circles.
Nugget 5: We needed a strong man to take charge and give direction. We have a course now. The President is determined to restore, grow, and sustain our oil production levels to deliver economic growth as our #RenewedHope Agenda envisioned. Despite a few challenges, we are on course
Nugget 6: It’s very easy to ignore the fact that $70b worth of investments have been lost in the Oil sector since 2011. Insecurity has bedeviled us, with over $46b lost to crude oil theft between 2010 and 2020. These were issues no one was bold enough to address- till Asiwaju.
Nugget 7: For this regressive subsidy regime, just ended, know that annual subsidy payments due to inefficiencies in the oil and gas value chain stood at a colossal $11b. It was not sustainable and someone had to act. The President was decisive in doing so & he told us from day one.
Nugget 8: For our first 100 days in office, we had already decided to unify exchange rates, deregulate PMS pricing, and move to end insecurity in our oil-producing states by rejigging our entire security architecture. We’re taking strong measures to secure our nation’s future.
Nugget 9: After this, by the end of 2024, we are targeting minimum daily production of 1.8mb/d of crude & 3.5bcfg, up from present levels. We’re ambitious and committed to sanitizing the oil sector and turning around our economy., building on the success of the PMB administration.
Nugget 10: Our wider plan for the Oil & Gas Sector involves building 7 core development pillars to spur growth in the industry while driving industrialization and transiting to a Green Economy by 2060. @offcialabat is building a sustainable future for us & our children yet unborn.
Nugget 11: First Pillar is to conserve our revenues and drive development. We already decided to eliminate the ₦8 trillion/yr payments in PMS subsidies and use that money to drive social investments, spur real sector and build infrastructure in our cities and rural areas.
Nugget 12: Secondly, we intend to monetize our national oil assets by offering our stake in these assets to private investors. This will mean we have more revenues to drive growth and development in Nigeria. This is when our comatose refineries and @NNPC will take center stage.
Nugget 13: We will restore lost revenues by boosting oil production to 2.5mmb/d and 5bcf/d for export & domestic use while ensuring we run @Nigerialng at full capacity. We’re working towards building a more prosperous Nigeria and repositioning ourselves as a global energy giant.
Nugget 14: After we shore up revenues, we will grow production & export capacity to 4mb/d & 12bcf/d for domestic use and export by 2030. We will boost our power generation capacity to 25-30GW of output simultaneously, adding 12GW of stranded Gas-fired power. #PowerGeneration
Nugget 15: Next will be the Industrialization phase- the 6th pillar, where we will set about diversifying revenue sources & boosting job creation. We will begin converting our Oil & Gas output into industrial products, feedstocks, & aggregate demanded in industrial clusters.
Nugget 16: We’ll prioritize export-oriented projects to improve bankability and drive growth, to create a strong economy that benefits us all, increasing the earning power of Nigerians such that issues like fuel availability or the price no longer occupy national discourse
Nugget 17: Our transition to a Green Economy will reduce Carbon emissions and incorporate Carbon Capture, Usage & storage (CCuS), and utilization in LNG projects to drive energy efficiency. We’re committed to a sustainable future. #GreenEconomy #SustainableFuture
Nugget 18: The judiciary/legislature will lead the anti-corruption fight to ensure this is done, while freedom of information, security, and right of association will be enshrined in this dispensation. Together, we’ll create a better Nigeria. #BetterNigeria #StrongInstitutions
Nugget 19: This is the Asiwaju Plan for Nigeria, as envisioned in our #RenewedHope Agenda. Deregulation is only the first part of this process/plan. Other health, education, agriculture, infrastructure, and more measures will come on stream soon. #HolisticSolution #NigeriaISBack
Nugget 20: As we go about our lawful businesses this weekend, let us all mull over this message & pass it across to our neighbors, family & friends. I am a listening public servant, so please drop your observations & suggestions here- I am reading. Have a great weekend
Meanwhile, A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State, Dr Olumuyiwa Adu, has advised President Bola Tinubu to reduce the cost of governance by cutting down the earnings of political appointees instead of bogus palliatives.
Adu, who made the advice while speaking to newsmen on Sunday in Akure, said that high cost of governance continued to hinder the progress in the management of the country’s treasury and economy.
He stated that the cost of governance in Nigeria was exceptionally too high.
APC chieftain, who expressed disgust at the high cost of things in the country said only a small number of political elites are gaining from the situation and they have demonstrated little concern for the welfare of the people.
Adu, an Akure born-politician and legal practitioner, explained that since Tinubu had affirmed his interest in making progress in the management of the nation’s economy, the president should be prepared to cut the cost of governance.
According to him, financial excesses from political office holders have continued to stall the development of the country.
The APC chieftain said that the economic crisis rocking the nation had been worsened by the removal of the fuel subsidy, adding that government should prioritise access of poor and vulnerable Nigerians to basic socio-economic rights and dividends rather than the rich.
He argued that the suspended N8,000 palliative measure would not have solved the problems of many suffering Nigerians facing the astronomical rise in the prices of essential commodities and cost of living.
“Except we sit down and think about the allocation of our wealth in this country and distribution of our resources, we can never get it right. If they like, let them begin to give N50,000 to every family in this country, we can’t get out of the problem.
“We are all aware of what is obtainable in the public service, imagine a situation where somebody that on the highest grade level in public service and has worked for over 30 years, yet he’s not earning up to N500,000 per month.
“And you elect somebody to a place where he is supposed to formulate policies for the society to be good, you are paying him N20 million in a month, we can’t get it right except we cut the cost of governance.
“So, let us bring ourselves back to the basics. Develop our resources with that money and develop our infrastructure or use it to bring about good education into the system,” he added.
The APC chieftain pleaded with Nigerians to support the administration of President Tinubu, which he said, would grow and develop the economic base of the country with its renewed hope to the people.
He, however, explained that it was too early for Nigerians to start assessing the government with complaints, adding that he was optimistic that the president would perform far better than his processors in office.
According to him, the government of 19 or 20 years ago, worked under different parameters that could be judged from indices and the situation in the entire world today is different from what it used to be then.
“There was no benchmark to assess the performance of any government.
“ This government just came in and it has not even appointed ministers. It Is yet to know what is obtainable in most of these ministries for it to be able to sit down and see all the executive policies we need to formulate to enable them to perform as executives.
“So, it’s too early to begin assessing the government but so far so good, from what he’s doing now the president is going through a sustainable way of approaching the problems of this country. Of course, it won’t come without pains,” he stated.
