President Bola Tinubu said Friday that Nigeria was sliding toward bankruptcy when he took office in May 2023, crediting his administration’s painful but enduring economic reforms including the end to fuel subsidies.
The President defended several of his actions steering the country away from financial ruin.
Speaking at an interfaith breaking of fast dinner with media leaders and executives at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, President Tinubu described his government’s reforms as essential, if unpopular, steps to stabilize the economy.
“At the time we had to confront the subsidy, Nigeria was tilting on the edge of bankruptcy,” the President stressed.
“But having asked for the job and getting it, I cannot look back other than to make corrections as I move along and save the nation. Today, I can stand proudly before you that we are back from that brink.”
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President Tinubu described leadership as a duty to make hard calls under pressure.
“If anybody tells you it is easy, it is a lie. Leadership comes with the responsibility of taking decisions at the time they ought to be taken,” Tinubu told the media leaders.
The President praised the media’s role in holding him accountable.
He said devouring newspapers each morning “an addiction,” he called it had fueled his resolve, even when early criticism made him “a little stubborn.”
“I never categorized anyone as an arch-critic. I see them as stimulators who can help build a nation,” the President said.
While responding to the request of the media chief executives for the industry, President Tinubu said he had heard requests for tariff waivers on imported newsprint, ink, and broadcasting gear, amid rising costs that threaten print outlets.
“I listened carefully to you. The question of tariffs was discussed this afternoon,” Tinubu noted.
He promised to “rectify” any oversight.
In his remarks, the Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris announced that regulators were negotiating with tech giants like Google and Meta over their dominance in digital advertising, which has eroded traditional media revenue.
“The President will not allow anyone to come here, reap from our economy and simply walk away,” the Minister said.
Frank Aigbogun, Publisher of BusinessDay and a spokesman for media executives, urged swift relief.
“Tonight is not to interrogate government policy but to let you know that we are in pain,” he said.
“There is no child who meets his father and does not cry to him when he is hurting,” he noted.
