President Bola Tinubu addressed the nation on Sunday with a message of concern, responsibility, and a call for togetherness during a period of increased tension and unrest across multiple states in Nigeria.
The violent and destructive recent wave of protests has forced the President to address the people directly, addressing their concerns and detailing the actions being done to bring peace and order back.
The entire text is available here:
PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMED SERVICES, BOLA AHMED TINUBU, HIS EXCELLENCY, BROADCAST
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA’S FORCES AT THE NATIONWIDE PROTEST
Among my fellow Nigerians,
With a sad heart and a sense of responsibility, I address you today in light of the unrest and violent protests.
My fellow citizens of Nigeria,
Read Also: President Tinubu is with APC governors at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
- In light of the unrest and violent protests that have broken out in a few of our states, I address you today with a sad heart and a sense of responsibility.
- Notable among the demonstrators were young Nigerians who hoped and dreamed of living in a better, more progressive nation where their objectives would be realized on a personal level.
- Despite the protest organizers’ assurance that the demonstration would be nonviolent nationwide, I am particularly hurt by the deaths that have occurred in Borno, Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna, and other states;
the reckless looting of stores and supermarkets; and the damage that has been done to public infrastructure in certain areas. When properties are destroyed, our country is regressed since limited resources would have to be used once more to back them up
- My sympathies go out to the relatives and families of the protest victims. More murder, violence, and devastation must end.
- I have a duty to maintain public order as this nation’s president. Our government will not watch helplessly as a select few with a distinct political objective rip our country apart in violation of my constitutional pledge to defend the lives and property of every person.
- Given the circumstances, I now order demonstrators and the organizers to put an end to any upcoming demonstrations and make space for conversation, which I have always welcomed whenever the chance arises. Nigeria needs all hands on deck, and everyone must work together, regardless of age, party, tribe, religion, or other distinctions.
collectively in reshaping our country’s future. You will be apprehended by the law if you have used this as an excuse to intimidate any group within this nation. In the Nigeria we want to create, there is no place for threats like ethnic intolerance.
- When every Nigerian is guaranteed the protection and exercise of their constitutional rights, our democracy advances. Our law enforcement agencies should keep up their responsible efforts to guarantee the complete protection of innocent individuals’ lives and property.
- My dream for our society is a just and prosperous one in which every individual can live in freedom, peace, and a meaningful life—a life that is open and transparent—that only democratic good government can offer. responsible to the people of Nigeria.
- Due to numerous misalignments that have slowed our growth, our economy has endured decades of anemia and decline. Our beloved nation of Nigeria faced financial difficulties a little more than a year ago, and we were forced to stop using band-aid fixes and solve long-term issues for the sake of the present and future generations.
In order to free our country from the economic vice that had been squeezing its economy and impeding its growth and advancement, I thus had to make the difficult but essential choice to eliminate gasoline subsidies and certain foreign exchange schemes.
- By taking these steps, rent seekers and smugglers were prevented from profiting from their avarice. Additionally, they prevented us from providing the excessive subsidies to our people, bringing our economy to its knees.
I had to make these choices if we were to undo the decades of poorly managed economy that had not been beneficial to us. Yes, I agree that I am ultimately responsible. However, I promise that my entire attention is on providing the people with governance—good governance, to be exact.
- Our government has made tremendous progress in the last 14 months toward reestablishing the framework of our economy to lead us into a prosperous future. Regarding the budget, as a result of our efforts to stop leaks, implement automation, and mobilize resources,
When comparing the first half of 2024 to the first half of 2023, total revenue for governments has more than tripled to over 9.1 trillion Naira. creative funding without putting more strain on the populace. Productivity in the non-oil sector is rising steadily, hitting new heights and seizing opportunities in the current economic climate.
- My beloved siblings, we’ve made it this far. We have been able to lower our nation’s debt service expenditure from 97% of total revenue to 68% over the last 13 months. Additionally, we have paid off legitimately outstanding foreign exchange obligations totaling approximately $5 billion without having a negative effect on our programs.
- This has allowed us to spend more money on you, our citizens, to pay for vital social services like healthcare and education. It has also given us more financial freedom. It additionally led to our nation’s state, & Local Governments getting the largest Federation Account allotments in our nation’s history.
- We have also started large-scale infrastructural initiatives across. Roads, bridges, trains, electricity, and oil and gas developments are among the legacy projects that we are striving to finish in order to maintain our economic prosperity.
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Sokoto-Badagry Highway are two significant projects that will connect sixteen states, generating thousands of employment and increasing economic output through trade, tourism, and cultural fusion.
- Thanks to the changes I declared in May 2024 to close the loopholes in the Petroleum Industry Act, our once-collapsing oil and gas sector is currently seeing a boom. We raised our daily oil production to 1.61 million barrels last month, and our daily gas production
The attention that assets deserve is being given. Since then, there have been two signed Foreign Direct Investments totaling more than half a billion dollars, indicating that investors are returning.
- Colleague Nigerians are endowed with both oil and gas resources, but we recently visited a nation that had been ignoring its gas riches in favor of oil-based gasoline. Additionally, we were subsidizing and paying for its use with our hard-earned foreign currency.
We quickly responded to this by initiating the Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (CNG), which will power our transportation sector and reduce costs. This will free up our resources to invest more in other areas by saving more over two trillion Naira a month, which is currently utilized to buy PMS and AGO education and medical care.
- In order to do this, we will be giving out a million kits at a very low cost or for free to commercial vehicles that move people and products and which currently use eighty percent of the imported PMS and AGO.
18. We have initiated the national roll-out of conversion centers and the distribution of conversion kits in collaboration with the private sector. We think that this CNG project will contribute to a 60% reduction in transportation costs and a slowdown in inflation.
- The student loan program is one way that our administration has demonstrated its support for the next generation. In order to compensate students and their various institutions, 45.6 billion Naira have already been processed.
- I support a larger proportion of our energetic young people in order to benefit from this chance. To make life easier for millions of households, we founded the Consumer Credit Corporation with over N200 billion to assist Nigerians in purchasing necessities without having to make quick cash payments.
As a result, cash and opaque transactions will disappear and corruption will decline. I directed this week that an additional N50 billion Naira each be released for Credit Corporation and NELFUND, the student loan program, from the proceeds of crime that the EFCC has recovered.
- To further empower our youth and create millions of IT and technical employment that will make them globally competitive, we have also obtained $620 million under the Digital and Creative Enterprises (IDiCE) program.
The 3Million Technical Talents program is one of these initiatives. Sadly, there was vandalism at one of the digital centers. amid the Kano demonstrations. What a loss!
- We have also launched the National Youth Talent Export Program (NATEP), the Nigerian Youth Academy (NIYA), and the Skill-Up Artisans Programme (SUPA).
Additionally, more than N570 billion has been made available to the 36 states to promote their residents’ livelihoods, and our nano-grants have benefited 600,000 nano-businesses. It is anticipated that this will help an extra 400,000 nano-businesses.
- In addition, commencing this month, 75,000 individuals have been processed to receive our N1 million Micro and Small Business single-digit interest loans. In the last year, we have also constructed ten MSME hubs, which have generated 240,000 jobs. Five more hubs are currently under construction and should be operational by October of this year.
- N1 billion in payments In order to increase manufacturing output and promote expansion, each of these loans—which are also being provided to large manufacturers—are only $10 in value.
- The National Minimum Wage was signed into law last week by me, meaning that the lowest-paid employees will now get at least N70,000 per month.
- At the Renewed Hope City and Estate in Karsana, Abuja, six months ago, I dedicated the first stage of our massive housing project. We have planned six projects around the country’s geopolitical zones, this being the first. With Karsana alone expected to provide 3,212 apartments, each of these cities will have at least 1,000 housing units.
- We are starting the Renewed Hope Estates, which have 500 dwelling units each, in each state in addition to these municipal initiatives. Our Objective aims to finish building 100,000 dwelling units in total during the following three years. Not only will this project provide housing, but it will also boost economic growth and generate thousands of employment across the country.
- Farmers are receiving incentives from us to boost food output at reasonable costs. In order to assist bring down prices, I have directed that tariffs and other import duties be waived on pharmaceuticals, rice, wheat, maize, sorghum, and other pharmaceutical and medical goods for the next six months.
thirty. To increase food production, I have been engaging with important Ministers and our Governors. We have fertilisers distributed. Our goal is to cultivate over 10 million hectares of land in order to produce what we consume food.
- The states will supply the land, and the federal government will offer all the incentives required for this effort, which will significantly boost food production and create jobs for millions of Americans.
We have also placed orders for mechanized farming equipment, including tractors and planters, worth billions of Naira, from Belarus, Brazil, and the United States in the last several months. You may be assured that the equipment is on its way.
- I have heard you loud and clear, my dear Nigerians, especially our youth. I want to reassure you that our government is dedicated to hearing your issues and resolving them because I recognize the anguish and annoyance that these protests are motivated by.
- However, we must allow violence and devastation splits our country apart. In order for every Nigerian to live in dignity and prosperity in the future, we must cooperate.
- We have a group work ahead of us, and in my capacity as your President, I am leading the way. Our economy has stabilized after much work, and I must continue to be committed to making sure that every Nigerian receives the benefits that have been promised.
- My administration is putting in a great deal of effort to develop and upgrade the infrastructure of the country and provide additional chances for our youth.
- Do not allow someone to mislead you about your nation or to suggest that your government does not care about you. Even though there have been a lot of false hopes in the past, this is a fresh An Age of Rekindled Hope. Everyone will soon be able to see, feel, and appreciate the tangible rewards of our hard work on your behalf.
- Together, let us construct a more promising future for future generations as well as for ourselves. Allow us to select development over stagnation, togetherness over separation, and hope over fear. Kindly don’t cut off the economy’s oxygen as it begins to revive.
37. Do not let the opponents of democracy to exploit you to forward an illegitimate agenda that will regress our democratic progress now that we have had democratic governance for twenty-five years. Never look back; always look forward!
- Praise the Lord, express gratitude for your time, and may He keep showering blessings on our wonderful country. Many thanks for it.
Finally, security personnel must uphold law and order, peace, and order in our nation by adhering to the applicable treaties on Nigeria is party to the UN Convention on Human Rights. Every Nigerian’s safety and security are of utmost importance.
Tinubu’s speech serves as a moving reminder of the nation’s common goals and the necessity of cooperation and communication at this pivotal time for Nigeria.
The administration is still dedicated to guaranteeing everyone’s safety and security while attending to the justifiable worries of its people.
The call for harmony, comprehension, and cooperation is resounding loudly from the nation’s highest office as it navigates these trying times.
