Gains of Tinubu’s reforms already visible — Minister

Résumé détaillé

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, has defended President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies, saying the gains of the administration’s reforms are already…

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, has defended President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies, saying the gains of the administration’s reforms are already becoming visible despite the hardship experienced by Nigerians.

Oduwole said the removal of the fuel subsidy in 2023 came with economic consequences but was necessary to address structural problems in the economy.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, she said the country needed to address economic challenges that had persisted for decades before expecting lasting improvements.

“Where we’re coming from is like four decades, and we had to fix that foundation. There is no way you can plant new seeds in bad soil and expect anything to germinate, and the President said it from day one, ‘I have to do these reforms. It’s going to be painful. Stay with me.’

“But Nigerians don’t want to hear the statistics. I can reel out to you the macroeconomic removal of subsidy, making sure that inflation — it’s come down — making sure that foreign exchange stability… We forget where we’re coming from,” she said.

The minister said the foundation had been laid to improve the lives of Nigerians, although she acknowledged that the cost of living remained high and citizens were experiencing hardship.

“The foundation has been laid, empirically verifiable. But Nigerians, now, is the cost of living high? Are people in pain?

“Yes, we are also Nigerians, and we know that this is the time you have to just stay through, and it’s already coming down. Prosperity is already flowing,” she said.

Oduwole, however, maintained that the Nigerian economy had been stabilised, adding that the country had demonstrated resilience in the face of global economic shocks.

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