President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday hosted leaders of the Yoruba socio-cultural organisation Afenifere at the State House in Abuja.
Speaking during the meeting with them, Tinubu said his administration remains undeterred in its pursuit of comprehensive economic security for the country while addressing foundational challenges and creating a fair and equitable system in which all Nigerians can thrive.
He also said his administration is re-engineering Nigeria’s finances and seeking to boost the purchasing power of citizens, and spread prosperity down the line, by instituting a credit system where the element of cash is not an impediment to a significantly enhanced standard of living for all citizens.
He said Nigeria must secure itself economically first before it can achieve any of its more sophisticated objectives.
‘’We are committed to the economic survival of our country. To re-engineer the finances of our country, we must start in earnest. So first, retool, revamp the economic opportunities available, and resolve to continue taking the firm and steady baby steps that are necessary.
‘’Education is a strong weapon against poverty. To empower the people, we must invest in the future of our youths. We have seen the problems parents face in training their children in school; it is the reason why we established the National Student Loan Programme, which is taking off well.
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‘’We are equally examining what to do with the high degree of unemployment. We must help vulnerable people by providing social security. We are looking at how to provide allowances for the unemployed, and we are developing ways to boost the purchasing power of citizens with the Consumer Credit Scheme. If we remove the cash upfront element to buy a car or a house, we will reduce the propensity for fraud and corruption across the land,’’ Tinubu said.
On security, he declared that those who threaten the sovereignty of Nigeria would pay a heavy price.
‘’Banditry and kidnapping will be defeated. And there is no payment of ransom whatsoever. We are taking the battle to them. We are getting results more rapidly than before. We are working hard on intelligence gathering. Those who think they can threaten the sovereignty of Nigeria will have themselves to blame. They have a price to pay. And we are not going to relent,’’ the president affirmed.
Earlier in his remarks, the Oluabo of Ilu-Abo and former secretary to the government of the federation, Oba Olu Falae, commended the president for his courageous decisions and for the rehabilitation of the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos, as well as other critical ongoing projects.
The delegation included leader of Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti; Senator Gbenga Daniel, Segun Osoba among others.
Former acting leader of the group Ayo Adebanjo was however absent.
