By Adedapo Adesanya

President Bola Tinubu has announced that priorities will be given to energy sufficiency, ranging from fuel to electricity, as well as tackling food insecurity in 2024.

In his New Year message broadcast to Nigerians at 7 am on Monday, January 1, the President urged citizens not to falter despite the tough times and difficulties they face.

He rallied Nigerians to stay united and support his administration as it works to build a better nation and a Nigerian society that cares for all citizens.

“Dear Compatriots, take this from me: the time may be rough and tough, however, our spirit must remain unbowed because tough times never last. We are made for this period, never to flinch, never to falter,” President Tinubu said.

“The socio-economic challenges of today should energize and rekindle our love and faith in the promise of Nigeria. Our current circumstances should make us resolve to work better for the good of our beloved nation.

“Our situation should make us resolve that this new year 2024, each and every one of us will commit to be better citizens.”

President Tinubu pleaded that all his policies so far including the removal of fuel subsidy as well as the float of the naira, a move aimed at the unification of the foreign exchange windows, were necessary moves to better the economy.

“Everything I have done in office, every decision I have taken, and every trip I have undertaken outside the shores of our land, since I assumed office on 29 May 2023, have been done in the best interest of our country,” the President said.

“Over the past seven months of our administration, I have taken some difficult and yet necessary decisions to save our country from fiscal catastrophe. One of those decisions was the removal of fuel subsidy which had become an unsustainable financial burden on our country for more than four decades.

“Another was the removal of the chokehold of few people on our foreign exchange system that benefited only the rich and the most powerful among us. Without doubt, these two decisions brought some discomfort to individuals, families, and businesses.”

The President also said he understands the situation relating to Nigeria’s economic and security challenges.

“From the boardrooms at Broad Street in Lagos to the main streets of Kano and Nembe Creeks in Bayelsa, I hear the groans of Nigerians who work hard every day to provide for themselves and their families,” he said.

“I am not oblivious to the expressed and sometimes unexpressed frustrations of my fellow citizens. I know for a fact that some of our compatriots are even asking if this is how our administration wants to renew their hope.”

According to the President, he has identified progress in the areas of security and believes the economy is poised for a better year.

“Silently, we have worked to free captives from abductors. While we can’t beat our chest yet that we have solved all the security problems, we are working hard to ensure that we all have peace of mind in our homes, places of work and on the roads,” he said.

President Tinubu said he expects an acceleration of the pace of service delivery to Nigeria in the new year.

In the area of power supply, he points to a deal he signed with German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz at COP 28 in December 2023.

The new deal is aimed at speeding up the delivery of the Siemens Energy power project that will ultimately deliver a reliable supply of electricity to homes and businesses under the Presidential Power Initiative which began in 2018.

“Other power installation projects to strengthen the reliability of our transmission lines and optimise the integrity of our National grid are ongoing across the country,” he added.

Based on an understanding that no meaningful economic transformation can happen without a steady electricity supply, the President says his administration is moving a step further in the quest to restart local refining of petroleum products with Port Harcourt Refinery, and the Dangote Refinery which shall fully come on stream.

To ensure constant food supply, security and affordability, he explained that his administration will step up plans to cultivate 500,000 hectares of farmlands across the country to grow maize, rice, wheat, millet and other staple crops.

He noted that the administration had launched the dry season farming with 120,000 hectares of land in Jigawa State last November under our National Wheat Development Programme.

In addition to that he said, “In this new year, we will race against time to ensure all the fiscal and tax policies reforms we need to put in place are codified and simplified to ensure the business environment does not destroy value.

“On every foreign trip I have embarked on, my message to investors and other business people has been the same. Nigeria is ready and open for business.

I will fight every obstacle that impedes business competitiveness in Nigeria and I will not hesitate to remove any clog hindering our path to making Nigeria a destination of choice for local and foreign investments.”

Assuring Nigerians that measures are in place for proper evaluation and that his ambition is to build a fair and equitable society for the country, President Tinubu called on Nigerians to play their part.

He said, “For the new year to yield all its good benefits to us as individuals and collectively as a people we must be prepared to play our part. The job of building a prosperous nation is not the job of the President, Governors, Ministers, Lawmakers and government officials alone.

“Our destinies are connected as members of this household of Nigeria. Our language, creed, ethnicity and religious beliefs even when they are not the same should never make us work at cross purposes.

“In this new year, let us resolve that as joint heirs to the Nigerian Commonwealth, we will work for the peace, progress and stability of our country. I extend this call to my political opponents in the last election; the election is over. It’s time for all of us to work together for the sake of our country.”