Vice-President Kashim Shettima emphasized the administration’s commitment to avoid blaming the previous government for ongoing challenges, citing the complexities of Nigeria’s political landscape. Speaking at the 21st Century Chronicle’s second Chronicle Roundtable, Shettima highlighted the critical decisions made by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and addressed economic reforms and challenges.
“The president chose the option that will save the lives of the people instead of the ones that will lead to the prolongation of economic death, We will not resort to put the blame on previous administration as leadership is about courage, continuity,” Shettima remarked, emphasizing the administration’s courage and continuity in leadership.
Addressing the contentious issue of fuel subsidy removal, Shettima acknowledged the burden it placed on the nation’s finances, with Nigeria’s debt service to revenue ratio reaching an alarming 111.18 percent before their term. He stressed the necessity of removing the subsidy despite its bitter repercussions.
“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 subsidy because there were 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.
The vice president further submitted that “We have to jettison the subsidy regime, it was a bitter pill to swallow but we had to do it.”
Regarding economic reforms, Shettima defended the administration’s strategies against critics, referencing Argentina’s economic challenges as a cautionary tale against blindly copying others’ approaches.
“Barely two weeks, we watched as Argentina’s inflation rate surged. We respect what the president is doing there but governance is not photocopying.”
Shettima credited interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and National Security Adviser (NSA) for stabilizing the Naira against speculators’ projections of depreciation. He highlighted successful efforts in thwarting currency manipulation schemes.
“Today, I stand proud to say that our intervention has translated into desirable goals. Naira speculators were projecting that the Naira will go as far as N5,000 to the dollar. Some bought the dollar at the rate of N2,000 from banks,” the VP said.
Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, Chairman of the event, further urged the government to continue proving its economic resilience amidst external pressures.
