March 16, 2024
He also appealed to Nigerians to go and get their National Identification Number (NIN) to enable his government carry out proper planning with a view to achieving integration into relief programmes.
President Bola Tinubu has stated that as his government is fighting against corruption, smugglers and old subsidy beneficiaries would fight back at his administration.
He also appealed to Nigerians to go and get their National Identification Number (NIN) to enable his government carry out proper planning with a view to achieving integration into relief programmes.
The president, who spoke Friday during a meeting with the Forum of State Chairmen of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the State House in Abuja, vowed that the repositioning of the economy was a top national priority for him.
Telling the party leaders about the fight against corruption, he noted that smugglers and those who benefitted from the petrol subsidy would fight back but maintained that his administration was ready to fix the country.
He, however, urged party members not to wait for an appointment before bringing good governance and exemplary civic engagement to the doors of Nigerians.
In a statement issued by Presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale after the meeting, Tinubu was quoted as saying, “As we are fighting corruption, smugglers, and old subsidy beneficiaries, they most certainly will fight back. All those who falsified records and became losers with the subsidy (on petroleum products) removal, they will fight back.
“We need to give hope, and we are giving it to the country and our citizens. We are working hard, day and night, even though some agents of destabilisation are present in the polity. Nigerians, with our focused support, shall defeat them.”
He told the state party chairmen, led by the National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Ganduje, that his government had already drawn up a blueprint for large-scale livestock farming, which will be activated soon.
“We are bringing mechanised farming to the fore. Yesterday’s crisis will become today’s opportunity. Fertilisers are being supplied to farmers as we speak. Agriculture and economic diversification provide the answers to our problems. We will not continue to import food. We know how to turn lack into abundance, and the world will watch us do it again,” the President said.
According to the Commander-in-Chief, the APC-led Nigerian government would defend all citizens.
He charged the party’s state chairmen to mobilise the citizens for the NIN registration, saying some Nigerians have no proper knowledge of the benefits of the NIN.
“But we will defend our people. The treasury belongs to the people, and that sacred trust must not be abused.
“I urge the state chairmen that regardless of party affiliation, let us help citizens by mobilising them for NIN registration. Not just PVCs. Some are poor Nigerians who have not experienced formal education and have no understanding of what NIN is and how it will benefit their lives. We must teach them. We must care for them.
“Without NIN, we can not embark on social security interventions for the vulnerable. We will be making faulty moves without accurate data and iron-clad, digital intervention structures. I have established a committee of governors, and it is headed by the Vice President, Sen. Kashim Shettima. It is working on what must be done to further lift our people.”