President Bola Tinubu yesterday said the removal of fuel subsidy by his administration three years ago saved the country from imminent bankruptcy and laid the foundation for the gradual recovery of the nation’s economy.
Tinubu spoke in Ikoyi, Lagos, while hosting state governors who came to celebrate with him the Sallah and the third anniversary of the administration.
In attendance were the Governors of Lagos, Nasarawa, Jigawa, Sokoto, Kebbi, Taraba, Niger, Ekiti, Delta, Ondo, Edo, Adamawa, Benue, Enugu, Ogun, and Kogi States, as well as the deputy governors of Borno and Kano.
The President acknowledged that the decision to remove the subsidy was difficult and painful for many Nigerians, but stressed that it became necessary to rescue the country from fiscal collapse and restore economic stability.
According to Tinubu, the country had spent enormous resources for years on unsustainable subsidy payments that benefited only a few while denying critical sectors of the economy the investments they needed.
“It was challenging at the time, but we survived. We face litigation and accusations. We survived them. Instead of bankruptcy, Nigeria has survived. The economy has recovered. It is growing. Agriculture is booming.
“Today I was watching some clips of the Sokoto -Badagry axis. Imagine how many dams on that corridor for irrigation, for farm land, for electricity. Well, many of you have survived and promoted the perseverance of many of our people, asking them to trust this government, and you have built that trust around one person: my leadership. I thank you very much’’ the President said.
Tinubu also thanked Nigerians for their patience, resilience and understanding, assuring them that the difficult phase was gradually yielding positive outcomes.
He said ongoing reforms in infrastructure, agriculture, social investment, foreign exchange management and fiscal discipline were beginning to restore investor confidence and improve economic prospects.
The President also commended the Governors for their cooperation, support and commitment to national development, noting that the partnership between the federal and state governments played a vital role in stabilising the economy.
He added: “I’m glad governors are no longer borrowing from the federal government and asking for interventions and not knowing how to survive, how to pay salaries, no more. You kept the spirit, you kept the hope. You persuaded our people to be patient and endure these three years of painful reform, during which we put the economy on a reset. Today, the benefits are showing.
“The economy has recovered. Macroeconomic indices are doing very well. Construction is ongoing on roads and infrastructure; the ones abandoned have been rehabilitated.
“The housing industry is coming on very well. Agriculture will prosper again. We will achieve food sovereignty if we utilise the land that is in your possession and in your various states effectively.”
Tinubu assured Nigerians that his administration would continue to implement people-oriented policies aimed at reducing hardship, creating jobs, strengthening food security and ensuring inclusive economic growth.
Earlier Vice President Kashim Shettima commended the President’s doggedness, tenacity and courage in confronting corruption in Nigeria’s oil industry in the name of the fuel subsidy.
Acvirding to him: Your Excellency, Mr President, this is the essence of your leadership. You did not come to power in the season of ease. You came at a time when the house required more than a canter. It required a builder with the courage to examine the foundation you inherited.
“In that defining hour, you choose not to postpone the surgery. You choose not to massage the wound. You choose to confront the contradictions that have held this country hostage for 50 years; that is the miracle of your courage.
“What you have done is not simply to administer a government. You have begun the difficult work of re-engineering a nation. You have reminded us that the reform is not a bank; it is a battlefield. It is not a picnic for the chicken-hearted. It is a covenant with the future.”
On his part, Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, who spoke on behalf of the Nigeria Governors` Forum, commended the policy initiatives of President Tinubu, which significantly enhanced the capacity of subnational governments to meet their obligations and execute critical developmental projects.
Abdulrazaq stated that the removal of the fuel subsidy and fiscal reforms led to an increase in revenue accruing to states, enabling them to offset outstanding salaries, pensions, and other financial commitments, as well as to embark on landmark infrastructural and social investment programmes.
“I think the nation was shocked by the audacity of Mr President to implement that serious policy, but today, it benefited immensely from that policy.
“Many states were subject to issuing bonds and borrowing money. Today, states are not going to borrow money; they’re not going to issue Bonds. In fact, we’re reducing our debt. I urge your Excellency to let them discuss moving the minimum wage to a minimum of N100,000’’ he said.
Also, Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum and Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma, thanked the President for stabilising the nation’s economy through bold reforms.
“We are the frontline beneficiaries of the innovative approach you brought to bear in governance. We came to join you in thanking Almighty God who made this thing possible. You have virtually recovered Nigeria from the brink of collapse to a state of stability and survival.
“Your Excellency, we, the field officers at the subnational level, are indeed very grateful. We have assessed your performance, Mr President, and I’m happy to announce that we have scored it a 100 per cent. We thank you for the genius you are, the fatherly role you have played, your interventions in terms of our needs and your vision for the country, moving forward,’’ Uzodinma said.
Also, the President yesterday inaugurated series of new tertiary education infrastructure projects across the country, as part of the nationwide programme of commissionings marking his administration’s third anniversary in office.
The projects, all delivered by the Federal Ministry of Education under the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), span four federal and state-owned tertiary institutions across the North Central, North West, North East.
At the Nasarawa State College of Education, Akwanga, the President inaugurated the newly built School of Science Complex — a two-storey facility housing conventional reading areas, dedicated staff and student e-libraries, the Chief Librarian’s office, secretarial offices and reference and inquiry sections. It is designed to strengthen the College’s capacity to train science teachers for basic and post-basic schools across Nasarawa State.
At the Nigerian Defence Academy, Afaka Campus, Kaduna, the President commissioned two flagship projects — the remodelled Senate Building and the new Biodiversity and Conservation Centre. The Senate Building features a 60-seat Senate Council Chamber, twin conference suites, executive offices, full lift installation, CCTV and access control, a public address and evacuation system, integrated fire suppression and a complete solar backup power system with lithium battery storage. The Biodiversity and Conservation Centre will strengthen the Academy’s environmental science research capacity, providing facilities for academic study, biodiversity documentation and applied conservation research.
At the Hussaini Adamu Federal Polytechnic, Kazaure, in Jigawa State, the President commissioned the newly constructed Classrooms Complex, delivered under the TETFund 2024 Special High Impact Intervention. The complex significantly addresses the chronic shortage of classroom space at the polytechnic, providing a more conducive environment for academic activities, enhancing effective learning and improving the educational experience for students and staff. Hussaini Adamu Federal Polytechnic is a leading technical education institution in the North-West, training mid-level manpower in engineering, applied sciences, environmental studies, business and management.
At Sa’adu Zungur University, Gadau Campus, in Bauchi State, the President commissioned the newly constructed Students’ Hostel — delivered under the TETFund 2024 Annual Intervention. The hostel was built at a contract sum of N738,964,701.34 over a 48-week period, and has been completed and prepared for occupation. The new hostel will significantly improve student welfare at the University, easing accommodation pressure on the Gadau Campus and supporting the institution’s expanding enrolment in the North-East.
Speaking on the inauguration, Tinubu said the country’s tertiary institutions remain central to the administration’s strategy for closing the skills gap in the economy and lifting learning outcomes in public schools.
”When you build a classroom, you build a generation,” the President said. ”The investment we are making in our colleges of education, polytechnics and universities today will determine the quality of every Nigerian schoolchild for decades to come.”
He added: ”Our Armed Forces deserve the best — in training, in equipment and in the institutions that shape their character. The Nigerian Defence Academy stands at the heart of that mission, and we will continue to invest in its future.”
On the country’s polytechnics, the President said: ”Our polytechnics are the engine room of Nigeria’s technical workforce. We will continue to invest in their classrooms, their laboratories and their staff. The skills our economy needs will not come from lecture theatres alone. They will come from hands trained in real workshops.”
Tinubu also commended the Honourable Minister for Education and the leadership of TETFund for sustaining the intervention programme across federal and state-owned tertiary institutions, as well as the contractors, consultants and institutional managements that delivered the projects to schedule. He urged the staff and students of the beneficiary institutions to put the new facilities to the use for which they were built, and to maintain them to the highest standards.
The inaugurations formed part of the federal government’s continued investment in tertiary education infrastructure under the Renewed Hope Agenda, in partnership with TETFund and the state governments of the host institutions.
The President also inaugurated four major Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) infrastructure projects spanning Lagos, Abuja and Owerri, in a single-day rollout that significantly expands the country’s clean transport infrastructure.
The projects, all delivered under the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF), form part of the federal government’s accelerated response to the petroleum subsidy reform and a deliberate strategy to expand domestic gas utilisation, reduce transport costs and accelerate the country’s transition to cleaner fuels.
At Ojota, Lagos, the President flagged off the Portland Gas CNG Mother Station, a facility with a daily dispensing capacity of 96,000 standard cubic metres. The project also includes two skid trucks for onward distribution, a 54-metric-tonne Liquefied CNG storage facility, and an associated CNG Daughter Station at Kubwa, Abuja.
Also at Ojota, Tinunu inaugurated the IBILE Oil and Gas Corporation (IOGC) CNG Refuelling Station, the flagship of Lagos State’s most ambitious clean transport rollout. The station anchors a network of 15 IOGC-MDGIF refuelling stations being delivered across Lagos, sited at Ogudu, Ikota, Agege, Ojota, Oko-Oba, Ajah, Idimu, Ogolonto, Abule Egba, Badagry, Ayobo and four additional locations across the metropolis. The network is designed to provide an affordable alternative to petroleum motor spirit for millions of Lagosians, lower transport costs for commercial fleets and private vehicle owners, and significantly reduce vehicular emissions in the country’s largest urban centre.
At Jahi District, Abuja, the President commissioned the High-Capacity CNG Daughter Booster Station developed by Rolling Energy Limited in a joint venture partnership with the MDGIF. The facility is billed as the most advanced of its kind in West Africa. The station is equipped with the fastest CNG dispensers ever deployed in the country, along with processing infrastructure that includes a 1,000 standard cubic metre-per-hour CNG compressor, a 3,200 standard cubic metre cascade storage system, two CNG tube skids of 8,500 standard cubic metres each, and a 150-kilovolt-ampere CNG-powered backup generator.
Its refuelling system comprises four dispensers in a dual-nozzle configuration with a total daily sales capacity of 20,000 standard cubic metres, capable of serving 900 to 1,000 cars and tricycles, and up to 50 trucks and buses, daily. The facility also houses a mass conversion centre with eight conversion pits, using high-technology kits and Standards Organisation of Nigeria-certified cylinders, converting up to 20 cars and 25 tricycles daily.
At the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), in Imo State, the President inauhurated the FEMADEC CNG Daughter Station and Conversion Centre, the flagship of the nationwide 20 Universities CNG Ecosystem Initiative, delivered under the Special Palliative Relief on University Transportation (SPROUT) Programme approved by the President to cushion the effects of the petroleum subsidy reform on tertiary students and staff.
The facility comprises a 1,000 standard cubic metres per hour Integrated Refuelling Unit, a CNG storage skid, four-way dispensing units, a CNG-powered on-site generator, and a fully functional Vehicle Conversion Workshop and Training Centre. The project also includes the deployment of CNG-powered buses and tricycles for intra-university transportation, and the provision of CNG conversion kits and tricycles under the Presidential CNG Initiative for Electric Vehicles (PiCNG-EV) programme.
To further improve uptake and ease vehicle conversion for the public, the federal government, through the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles (Pi-CNG & EV), has partnered with the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CrediCorp), Moniepoint Microfinance Bank and the National Credit Guarantee Company Limited (NCGC) to offer structured consumer credit for CNG conversion. Under the Credit Access for Light and Mobility (CALM) Fund, motorists, commercial transport operators, and fleet owners can now convert their vehicles without paying the full amount upfront, with financing options backed by credit guarantees at rates as low as 9 per cent, with repayments spread over six months.
At the virtual inauguration, Tinubu said the country’s energy transition will be built on its own gas resources, not on imported alternatives, and that the four projects together represent a turning point for clean transport in Nigeria.
”Nigeria is a gas nation. Our energy future will not be borrowed. It will be built from what we have, and every project we are commissioning today is proof that we are building it. Lagos moves the country, and when Lagos can fuel itself with our own gas, at our own prices, the whole country benefits. Abuja today receives one of the most advanced CNG facilities in West Africa. This is what our gas reform looks like when it leaves the policy paper and arrives at the pump,” the President said.
”Our students, too, must not bear the heaviest weight of the reforms we have undertaken. The SPROUT programme is our deliberate response, and FUTO today joins a national network that will, in time, change the cost of mobility on every Nigerian campus,” he added.
Also, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, said the projects mark a decisive step in operationalising Nigeria’s Decade of Gas agenda and underscore the federal government’s commitment to making domestic gas the backbone of the country’s energy transition.
”Nigeria sits on more than 210 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves, a resource that, properly harnessed, can fuel our industries, power our homes, move our vehicles and lift millions of our people out of poverty,” he said.
Ekpo commended the MDGIF, Pi-CNG & EV, the financial institutions and the joint venture partners for the speed and discipline of delivery, and assured Nigerians that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources will continue to enable the regulatory and fiscal environment for domestic gas investment.
On his part, Executive Director of the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund, Oluwole Adama, said the day’s projects demonstrate what is possible when government, regulators, investors and technical partners unite around a shared purpose.
”These projects are clear examples of what is possible when government, regulators, investors and technical partners unite around a shared purpose. They demonstrate that real progress happens when vision is translated into action.”
He thanked the President for the enabling incentives for gas investments and for the inauguration of the MDGIF Governing Council.
He commended the National Assembly, the NMDPRA, and the Fund’s joint venture partners for their roles in delivering the projects
