Tag: Shettima

Vice President Kashim Shettima has stated that the challenges faced by the present administration cannot be attributed to the previous administration led by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Vice President stated at the second Chronicle Roundtable, hosted by the 21st Century Chronicle that, leading Nigeria in the present circumstances is no easy task due to the many obstacles faced.

He also noted that rather than opting for an easy way out, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made a difficult decision for the benefit of the country.

Shettima said: “The president chose the option that will save the lives of the people instead of the ones that will lead to the prolonged economic death. We will not resort to blame the previous administration as leadership is about courage and continuity.

“Before we took charge, the biggest elephant in the room was about fuel subsidy removal. It was an albatross round the neck of the nation for the past 20 to 30 years. We understood why our predecessor decided to remove the subsidy because there was no sufficient budget for it in the fiscal year.

“A year before we took office, Nigeria’s debt service to revenue ratio had grown to 111.18 percent. It was an economic death sentence. To be plain to us, our debt service was that if you earn N100,000, you are forced to borrow an additional N11,800 to pay the debtor. How do we intend to survive this? It will be long before we become a pariah.”

He added that the subsidy regime’s deliberate corruption has resulted in the diversion of resources from vital sectors.

“We have to jettison the subsidy regime, it was a bitter pill to swallow but we had to do it.”

Read Also: Shettima, Sultan, Saudi minister, others for Hajj Institute summit

On the economy reforms it is carrying out, he said: “A presidential candidate in the last election, eager to mock our economic trajectory once pointed Argentina as a model to Nigeria and became an overnight market specialist. He was convinced that we had missed our way and should have adopted the ways of our friends in South America.

“Barely two weeks, we watched as Argentina’s inflation rate surged. We respect what the president is doing there but governance is not photocopying.”

He said that the Naira was saved by the CBN and NSA’s involvement to neutralize powerful currency manipulators who had plotted to thwart its reforms.

“Today, I stand proud to say that our intervention has translated into desirable goals. Naira speculators were projecting that the Naira would go as far as N5,000 to the dollar. Some bought the dollar at the rate of N2,000 from banks.”

Vice President Kashim Shettima has expressed optimism about the performance of the Naira at the forex market, saying it will appreciate more as the dollar continues to crash. 

He stated this when a delegation from the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) led by its President, Gabriel Idahosa, paid him a courtesy visit at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

According to a statement on Saturday by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, the VP noted the Tinubu administration’s decision to end fuel subsidy and unify the multiple exchange rate was necessary to address the challenges facing the country. 

Noting the dollar will further crash against the Naira, the Vice President said: “Naira went haywire and some people were celebrating but inwardly we were laughing at them because we knew that we have the leadership to reverse the trend. Asiwaju knows the game, and truly the naira is gaining and the difference will drop further”.

Shettima recalled the quality of leadership provided by President Tinubu as Lagos Governor laid the foundation for the massive development witnessed in the State, adding: “We will always thank President Tinubu for providing the blueprint for the development of Lagos that we are seeing today”.

Read Also: Why Nigeria must end insecurity now, by Shettima, Gowon, others

He also assured the administration is working to address challenges in the power sector and generate jobs for youths.

“We are determined to ensure that we generate jobs for our youths. Honestly, the President’s obsession is to live in a place of glory, to transform this country to a higher pedestal. He wants to leave a legacy, one of qualitative leadership because the hope of the black man, the hope of Africa rests with Nigeria.

“I want to assure you that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is one of you. He understands your ecosystem. In this government, you have an ally and a friend,” Shettima further noted.

The LCCI delegation presented recommendations to the VP, including the need for more innovations to address insecurity and promote credit access, stimulate investment, and support entrepreneurship.

“This could include targeted interventions such as concessional lending facilities, loan guarantees, and interest rate subsidies tailored to the needs of SMEs and key sectors of the economy like agriculture, manufacturing, and power technology,” he added.

Other members of the LCCI on the delegation included Chief John Odeyemi, Chief Dr. Nike Akande, Asiwaju (Dr.) M. Olawale –Cole, Prince Funayo Okeowo, Gwueke   Ajaifa, Sir Ladi Smith, Abimbola Ola, Olufemi Bakare, Ayotunde Coker, Tolulope Adeleke,  Stephen Alangbo, Dr Chinyere Almona and Mrs Temitope Akintunde.

In a separate meeting, VP Shettima urged Nigerians to live peacefully among themselves and learn to accommodate each other. 

He made this appeal when a delegation from the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) led by its President, Dr. James Neminebor, paid him a visit at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He emphasised the need for tolerance and togetherness, citing the example of Jos, which he described as a hospitable city with a diverse population. 

He also asked the association to channel its request for land in Abuja through the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Office of the Vice President, to enable him to follow it up with the relevant authorities.

Eminent Nigerians including Vice President Kashim Shettima and ex-Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon have spoken about the urgent need for the country to put an end to its lingering security challenge.

Former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Mariam Aloma Mukhtar and ex-Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu spoke in similar manner.

While Vice President Shettima assured that the President Bola Tinubu administration was determined to end insecurity, others noted that it would be difficult to attain development in the absence of peace.

Shettima, Gowon, Mukhtar and Shittu spoke in Abuja on Friday at the launch of two books written by former Nigerian Ambassador to the  Russia, Professor Abdullahi Y. Shehu.

The books are titled: “Boko Haram and other security challenges in Nigeria: Issues and options for policy” and “Reflections on the 2023 general elections: Lessons learned and the future of democracy in Nigeria.”

The Vice President, who was represented by his Special Adviser on General Duties, Dr. Aliyu Modibbo Umar urged all to support Federal Government’s efforts to address the challenge of insecurity.

While hailing the author, Shettima noted the books prove ready resources for a better understanding of the causes of insecurity in the country and how to address it.

He urged scholars, like the author, to provide credible data on insecurity and related challenges to aid government’s policies and measures.

Shettima said: “For far too long, Nigeria has been under the threat of terrorist organizations like Boko Haram, who seek to erase existence through violence. 

“We are also at the mercy of historical revisionists whose hidden agenda is to distort our national narrative. These daunting realities serve as the inspiration behind the books we gather to present today.

“His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has made security a top priority, and so the empirical research provided by scholars like Professor Shehu is essential. 

“They serve as indispensable resources for informing policy reforms and driving national development. 

“We understand that it is through such intellectual inquiry and data-driven analysis that we can chart a course towards a more secure and prosperous Nigeria,” Shettima said.

Gowon noted: “Boko Haram has been a threat, perhaps the major threat to the peace and development of Nigeria after the civil war.

“Boko Haram has indeed created a serious problem. After the civil war, l remember saying, I hope that we will not experience what we went through during that period again. Unfortunately, Boko Haram appeared.”

Gowon noted that the book on Boko Haram provides a clearer understanding of the problem and how to address it.

He added: “Understanding the debilitating impact and the deleterious effect of the insurgency on Nigeria is critical to developing innovative solutions to the problem.

“This also apply to the other security challenges that continue to undermine the stability and progress of Nigeria including recent incidences of banditry, kidnapping, farmers/herders problem and other violent conflicts as well as other forms of being experienced in Nigeria today.”

The ex-Head of State said the second book, on the last general elections, outlines crucial lessons to be learnt for strengthening democracy and good governance in Nigeria.

He was optimistic that recommendations in the book will aid those in authority in framing appropriate reforms and improving the electoral system and other forms of  restructuring required in the country.

Justice Mukhtar observed  that women and children are most affected in conflict, noting that  the experience of Boko Haram was evident in this regard.

Represented by Justice Yargata Nimpar of the Court of Appeal, the ex-CJN said: “The security of any nation is the bedrock for peace, stability and development.

“Democracy flourishes where there is peace, justice and rule of law.”

Shittu argued that the insecurity problem, which exists in the forms of insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, among others , is a creation of the Nigerian system.

Read Also: Shettima inaugurates technical committee for iDICE

He further argued that, had the funds being wasted on efforts to address insecurity was deployed to the education sector, the current mounting population of illiterate youths would have been avoided.

Shittu added: “If we had paid more attention to education, we won’t be where we are today.”

Citing example of the South West in the First Republic where the Premier, Chief Obafemi Awolowo made education free, Shittu said  education should be made free and declared as a human right, to which every Nigerian should be entitled.

He added that no well educated individual would consider living in the forest (as is the case with bandits, terrorists and kidnappers) as a way of life.

Shittu  expressed disappointment that majority of those involved in insurgency, banditry and kidnapping are mostly Muslims, who, he argued ought to know that it was wrong to take the life of the innocent.