Tag: Lai Mohammed

Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji  Lai Mohammed has assured Nigerians that the present administration is determined to turn around the economic situation for good.

Mohammed noted that the administration was aware that it was not elected to make excuses but to put the nation back on a sound economic footing, ensure the security of lives and property and banish corruption.

He therefore assured Nigerians that the change promised was real, despite the current tough situation.

Speaking at a meeting with members of the Broadcasting Organsations of Nigeria (BON) in Abuja alongside four other ministers, Mohammed reassured Nigerians that the administration was not lacking in political will, commitment, discipline and prudence.

Other ministers at the meeting are: Dr. Chris Ngige ( Labour and Employment);  Babatunde Fashiola, (Power, Housing and Work); Musa Bello (FCT) and Okey Enelamah (Trade and Investment).

Mohammed said: “As I have said at many fora, our economy, or whatever is left of it after years of serial mismanagement and massive corruption, is in a bad state.

“Throw into the mix the huge fall in oil price, and you have nothing but a disaster of an economy. But then, this administration is aware that it was not elected to make excuses but to put the nation back on a sound economic footing, ensure the security of lives and property and banish corruption.

“We have therefore decided to turn the disaster that we inherited into a blessing by diversifying our economy away from the mono-product of oil, leveraging on agriculture, solid minerals as well as culture and tourism, among others.

“Let me assure Nigerians that the change we promised is real, despite the tough situation we are in at the moment. It is real because there is no shortage of political will, commitment, discipline and prudence on the part of government, under the dedicated and visionary leadership of President Buhari.

“Now, make no mistake about it: The road will be rough. But as the saying goes, the darker the night, the brighter the morning. Our long suffering people will surely smile again. Change is no instant coffee. It is a process. We are now laying a solid foundation for our country.

“By earmarking 30 per cent of our budget to capital expenditure, we are building and rebuilding infrastructure. Through our massive social intervention this year alone, we are catering for the weak among us through the conditional transfer of N5,000  to the vulnerable, we are creating jobs as we move to employ 500,000 graduates and 100,000 non-graduates, we are offering soft loans to market women, men and traders, we are ready to feed 5.5 million school children once daily, and we are providing scholarships to 100,000 students studying Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

“In total, over 8 million Nigerians will benefit directly, and millions more indirectly, from our social intervention fund.

“Nigeria will overcome the economic catastrophe caused by years of bad governance, mind-boggling corruption and unprecedented profligacy. But we must not despair. We must keep hope alive.

Ngige said organised labour was carried along during the consultative meetings held before the recent hike in price of fuel.

This, he explained, was why oil workers and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) backed out of the strike called over  deregulation.

Nigige also disclosed that it was the idea of labour that for deregulation to work, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) must  sell petrol at same price as independent marketers , otherwise the issue of diversion and smuggling of  NNPC’s product would continue.

“That’s why TUC backed out because they know this was held and ok and everybody was on board,” he said.

Ngige lamented that the country which produced oil at OPEC production level of about 2.2 million barrels per day, currently produces 1.4 million litres per day, losing about 800, 000 a day.

Minister of Information Lai Mohammed yesterday said the country is broke.

He spoke to State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja.

He said the Federal Government took a painful decision by increasing the pump price of petrol from N86.50 to N145 per litre.

According to him, the current problem is not about subsidy removal but a result of dwindling income of the government.

He said: “The current problem is not really about subsidy removal. It is that Nigeria is broke. Pure and simple!

“It is like somebody who has been earning N100,000 a month and he is faced with a situation where his employer says henceforth you will be earning N10,000 a month. He would need to make some very painful decisions and some very painful adjustments. That is the situation with Nigeria today.

“A few months ago, we were earning as much as $100 for every barrel of crude. In the months of February and March, we were short of…so, we no longer have the resources, the foreign exchange to bring in refined fuel products. And our economy is shrinking. We appreciate the fact that the decision is going to affect everybody.

“We appreciate what we are going through, but Nigerians should also know that the government has the responsibility at times to take very difficult decisions. So, it is not always about popularity.”

Mohammed and Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige also said negotiations with the union leaders would continue.

They also denied allegations that the government was encouraging factionalism of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) at negotiated separately with a faction of the NLC during meetings to avert strike.

“We are ready to discuss with anybody on the way forward on this issue.” Ngige said.

He disclosed that the Federal Government has agreed to meet some of the demands of labour which include the reconstitution of Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) Board in the next two weeks.

According to him, a 15-man committee has also been set up to look at the demands of labour.

Stressing that the government was not promoting factionalism, he said: “We are trying to bring them under one roof on an issue that concerns all Nigerians.

“We wanted to speak to the sensitive sectors of the economy and that was why we brought them in.”