Tinubu to Nigerians: We won’t return to subsidy regime

…says economy on the right track

…accuses predecessor of printing money recklessly

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday reaffirmed his position that Nigeria would not return to the petrol subsidy regime, warning that reinstating the policy could push the country towards insolvency.

He made the declaration at the Banquet Hall of the State House while addressing members of the City Boy Movement, a political platform mobilising support for his re-election bid.

Apparently reacting to a proposal by the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, who had advocated what he called “production subsidy,” Tinubu maintained that the country could no longer afford a return to fuel subsidies.

He said: “I came and I removed subsidy the first day. No, Nigeria will go bankrupt. Yes, nothing left to pay subsidy.

“I could listen to my political opponents promising a return to subsidy. Most of all, sometimes I remember my scripture studies, both either the Bible and the Holy Quran. “When Moses left Egypt, they faced the challenge, and the Red Sea parted and gave way. “You cannot ask Moses to go back to Egypt. We wake up with ideas, original thoughts, and deep thinking to move this country forward. With your energy, your support, never will we go back to Egypt.”

Tinubu also expressed confidence in the state of the economy, citing economic growth figures as evidence that his administration’s reforms were producing positive results.

“No regrets. Before I left home, I saw one report: the economy growing by 4.6% or thereabouts. We are on the right trajectory. We are in good company. The economy is growing; it is steady. You will have a future, a future to believe in. Nigeria must win this election before any candidate does. You are not campaigning for me. You are campaigning for your own future, and that future is renewed hope. There’s nothing, nothing that will push us back. If you’ve been this patient, this knowledgeable, this committed.

“With what I am seeing here tonight, it is that your hope, my hope, has been renewed.”

Reflecting on the economic challenges his administration inherited, the president criticised the previous administration under the late Muhammadu Buhari over its use of the Ways and Means financing arrangement, which he described as reckless currency printing.

He also commended Nigerian youths for their patience and resilience in the face of what he acknowledged were difficult economic reforms.

“Thank you for standing with me. The road we have walked these past three years has not been easy. We took hard decisions that you heard from Vice President Kashim Shettima.

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“We were owing money to airlines. They were almost cutting their flights to Nigeria. ‘Our foreign reserve was nothing. We printed currencies as if there was no tomorrow, but rather than looking back at what were the flaws of the past, I took the lesson: my first lesson; I assume the responsibility and liability of my predecessor. That was a challenge. I remember our currency.

“We rebuild our tax system. Many said young Nigerians would turn their backs on reform. They were wrong. You are here. I came and promised one thing: that I will stop the ASUU strike. That four-year course will be four years in the universities. Those liabilities are redeemed today. We understood that a nation cannot borrow its way to greatness. You were patient when patience was hard. You defended this administration in the markets, on the campuses, in the motor parks, and on social media, often when it was not popular to do so. I saw it, I noticed and I will never forget it. I said thank you once again.”

Tinubu also praised his son, Seyi Tinubu, who is the patron of the City Boy Movement, for mobilising Nigerian youths in support of his father’s re-election bid.

In his remarks, Vice-President Kashim Shettima urged members of the movement to highlight the achievements of the current administration and avoid name-calling during the campaign.

“As the saying goes, if you keep on stopping to throw stones at every dog that barks, you will not reach your destination. You should rather engage on issue-based conversations with our political opponents. They are not our enemies. They are our co-travelers in national rebuilding.”