By Dipo Olowookere
President Bola Tinubu has emphasised that the Nigerian economy is not in distress as claimed by the opposition and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
On Monday, the IMF, which admitted that Mr Tinubu “inherited a difficult economic situation marked by low growth, low revenue collection, accelerating inflation, and external imbalances built up over years,” said the indices were showing a challenging outlook, especially when there is the possibility of subsidies on petrol and electricity could gulp up to 3 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024.
But President Tinubu, at the Leadership Conference and Awards 2023, held at the Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, disagreed that the Nigerian economy was in distress, explaining that, “Distress suggests helplessness, being at the mercy of something we have no control over. But that is not the case here.”
He stated that since he assumed office on May 29, 2023, his administration has made efforts to revamp the country’s economy.
“I have approved the disbursement of N200 billion through three new special intervention funds established to support Nigerian businesses.
“The first is a N50 billion Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme (PCGS) that will provide business grants and loans to traders, food vendors, transport workers, ICT businesses, creatives, and artisans; verification of all submitted applications is ongoing, and disbursements will commence through the Bank of Industry (BOI) as soon as this verification is completed.
“The second is a N75 billion FGN MSME Intervention Fund [that] will provide single-digit-interest loans to our MSMEs.
“The third is a N75 billion FGN Manufacturing Sector Fund targeting manufacturing businesses, with selected beneficiaries eligible to access up to N1 billion each,” he said through the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Mohammed Idris Malagi, who represented him at the event.
The award ceremony, which was attended by several personalities, including the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Mr Peter Obi, was themed An Economy in Distress: Which Way Forward?
Speaking further, President Tinubu noted his efforts made the “Nigerian economy to record a better-than-anticipated performance in the last quarter of 2023, growing by 3.46 per cent (year-on-year) compared with 2.54 per cent in the preceding quarter.”
“Capital importation into Nigeria was up 66 per cent in Q4 2023, reversing a 36 per cent decline in the previous quarter [and] in In January 2024, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited’s All-Share Index (ASI) crossed the 100,000 points mark, its highest ever,” he added.
He stated that his administration has been able to attract about $30 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) commitments.
According to him, these offshore investments cut across the real sectors of the economy, including manufacturing, telecoms, healthcare, oil & gas, and others, adding that the investments have already started coming into the country.
“Just a few days ago, I was in Qatar on an official visit, where the Emir assured [me] that a senior government delegation would visit Nigeria after Ramadan, to begin taking action on some of the new investments they are looking at here.
“I have asked the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy (Mr Wale Edun) to directly interface with the Qatari authorities to ensure that speedy progress is made,” the President said.
“I ask for the continuing patience and support of all Nigerians, including the elites that are very well represented in this room today.
“To the Nigerian media, I urge you to strive to report not only the challenges but also the solutions and the opportunities as well.
“Ours is a story of a country that is taking the right steps, and feeling the fleeting pains that will come with this course of action. A glorious dawn is indeed assured,” he stated.
