Vice President Kashim Shettima has urged Nigerians to give President Bola Tinubu credit for taking bold steps that, he said, stopped the economy from collapsing.
Speaking after meeting Tinubu at his Lagos residence, Shettima said the administration stayed in regular contact with the President while he was abroad.
“We are quite thrilled that he is back on the beat, and we have been in regular contact throughout his sojourn abroad,” Shettima said.
He said technology allowed Tinubu to remain involved in governance and receive updates almost every other day.
“When we assumed the mantle of leadership, our foreign reserves was a staggeringly low 3.9 billion dollars, that was not enough to import oil for one month. He had the courage and the conviction to take far-reaching decisions,” he said.
He defended the fuel subsidy removal and exchange-rate reforms.
“The withdrawal of the fuel subsidy, the realignment of the multiple exchange rates, were far-reaching decisions.”
“He literally… the economy was actually teetering on the verge of collapse. He saved the economy. I want Nigerians to understand this fundamental truism.
“We are on the road to Caracas. He saved our economy. He saved the nation from falling to pieces,” Shettima added.
He asked Nigerians to endure the hardship, saying, “tough times do not last forever. Tough people do.”
He also announced 10,600 electric tricycles, 300 buses and taxis for the North-East, while praising NELFUND.
“Politics is in the air, but we will combine politics and governance,” he said.
