Gains of Tinubu’s reforms already visible — Minister

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, has defended President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies, saying the gains of the administration’s reforms are already becoming visible despite the hardship experienced by Nigerians.

Oduwole said the removal of the fuel subsidy in 2023 came with economic consequences but was necessary to address structural problems in the economy.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, she said the country needed to address economic challenges that had persisted for decades before expecting lasting improvements.

“Where we’re coming from is like four decades, and we had to fix that foundation. There is no way you can plant new seeds in bad soil and expect anything to germinate, and the President said it from day one, ‘I have to do these reforms. It’s going to be painful. Stay with me.’

“But Nigerians don’t want to hear the statistics. I can reel out to you the macroeconomic removal of subsidy, making sure that inflation — it’s come down — making sure that foreign exchange stability… We forget where we’re coming from,” she said.

The minister said the foundation had been laid to improve the lives of Nigerians, although she acknowledged that the cost of living remained high and citizens were experiencing hardship.

“The foundation has been laid, empirically verifiable. But Nigerians, now, is the cost of living high? Are people in pain?

“Yes, we are also Nigerians, and we know that this is the time you have to just stay through, and it’s already coming down. Prosperity is already flowing,” she said.

Oduwole, however, maintained that the Nigerian economy had been stabilised, adding that the country had demonstrated resilience in the face of global economic shocks.

She said Tinubu had shown the courage and understanding required to implement economic reforms, noting that stabilising the economy was his primary promise during the 2023 election campaign.

“I would say President Tinubu has had the courage; he has the understanding to take on economic reforms, and if you look at what he promised — his number one promise in 2023 was to stabilise this economy.

“Four out of the eight pillars of the Renewed Hope Agenda are centred on the Nigerian economy. Did he deliver? Even if it is 50 per cent, it’s a pass mark, not to talk of what he did with infrastructure,” the minister said.

“Yes, we have a lot more to do. If you hear how he spoke to us at FEC concerning power. If you hear how he actually charges all of us, like we don’t even have the luxury of not delivering on the assignment that he has given us to do,” she added.

Asked about the administration’s promise to create one million information and communications technology jobs within 24 months in 2023 and significantly reduce youth unemployment, Oduwole said the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy had provided a significant number of jobs in the ICT sector.

She also cited other initiatives and programmes, including the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, increased infrastructure investment and consumer credit programmes, as gains that would form part of Tinubu’s legacy.

The minister also said the administration had encouraged Nigerian entrepreneurs to export their products and services and urged citizens to produce what they consumed.

“Nigeria won the jollof rice war for the first time,” she noted.

Oduwole said President Tinubu had done what he believed was right for the country, expressing confidence that history would judge his administration favourably.

“Mr. President has done what he knows and believes is right for Nigeria,” she said. “And I believe, based on evidence – empirical – that posterity and history will be extremely kind to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”