REFORM TALKS with Dr. Tope Fasua
In ‘A Compendium Of Reforms, Successes And Achievements of The Tinubu Administration’ by Dr. Tope Fasua, Special Adviser To The President On Economic Affairs Through The Office Of The Vice President, in which he sheds some light on the May 2025 Achievement of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Special Adviser pens a note which runs thus:
Continues From Last Edition
Further Capacitation Of State Governments
The upshot of the removal of subsidy in gasoline/petroleum, as well as the abolition of multiple exchange rates, have led to the benefits that used to be enjoyed by speculators and racketeers to be enjoyed by Nigerian states and local government. This is evident in the tripling of their federally-collected allocations, as well as the doubling of their internally generated revenues (IGR). This is in line with the promise of Mr. President to further capacitate the sub-nationals (states and local governments) and take some pressure off the federal. With this innovation, the onus now lie with state and local governments to ensure the unleashing of a plethora of rural infrastructure which will dovetail directly into better living for millions of Nigerians. Already, reports have it that most Nigerian states are now able to meet their obligations in terms of salaries, gratuities, pensions and other emoluments of their workers, meaning that the states are reflated from the ground up.
Local Government Autonomy
To add to 5 above, Mr. President has also pursued Local Government autonomy as a policy, to ensure that the allocations due to that level of government actually get administered directly by elected local government chairmen and chairwomen. To this extent, all Nigerian states have conducted transparent elections, putting in place responsible administrators. This is to solidify the benefits of the trickledown economics, ensuring that the most vulnerable local dwellers become part of the larger economy, the goal being economic and financial inclusiveness. It is noteworthy that as part of the tax reforms, the federal government is ceding 5% of its 15% share of Value Added Tax (VAT) to local governments because Mr. President is aware of where the shoe pinches.
War Against Human And Physical Insecurity
Mr. President also declared a war against human and physical insecurity, moving massively against the activities of non-state actors, bandits and terrorists, who have made life difficult for many Nigerians, and slowed down Nigeria’s rate of economic growth and recovery. It is evident that Nigeria’s challenges in this regard have political intonations because Nigeria’s prospects as a great nation are obvious. With renewed vigor, Nigeria’s security is being ramped up and the enemies of our predestined greatness will be vanquished – of course with the support of every Nigerian.
Buy Nigeria Program
The latest significant policy that will drive the economy in a solid and rapidly positive direction, using our own financial resources to catalyse our economy, is the Buy Nigeria policy which mandates all government agencies to prioritize made in Nigeria goods and services. Also, the Federal Executive Council under the chairmanship of Mr. President has mandated that Nigerian contractors, producers and service providers be patronized first before anyone seeks foreign intervention perhaps where local service providers and alternatives cannot be found. This is heartening and Nigerians are looking forward to more economic growth and development which this new policy will spur. These are a few of the achievements of the current administration within a span of two years. Some of these are further highlighted in the body of this compendium for everyone’s enjoyment, enlightenment and further amplification. It is beyond evident that a lot of work has put into the foundational and fundamentals of sustainable economic development in the last two years. We look forward to more progress in the coming days and we strongly believe that Nigerians will all have cause to cheer as we reap massively from the great vision of our great leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his deputy, and his vast array of lieutenants.
Landmarks from the office of the Vice President
National Economic Council
- Coordination and cooperation between federal and state governments to promote economic development and improved standards of living for all Nigerians
- Inauguration of active subcommittees to tackle urgent concerns affecting Nigerian citizens at state and local levels.
- Strategic planning and implementation of Mr. President’s vision in collegiate fashion and encouragement of peer-review mechanism among state governments.
Agriculture
- Nigeria promoted as safe haven for agric sector at 3rd belt and road forum in china, November 2023
- MoU signed with John Deere. Partnership for supply of 2,000 tractors yearly for 5 years and establishment of assembly plant in Nigeria
- Tripled African development bank interventions in Nigeria from $500m to over $1 billion
- Groundbreaking of FG Special Agroprocessing Zones (SAPZ) in Kaduna and cross river states
- Commercial signing of $1.1billion Nigeria-Brazil green imperative project to support smallholder farmers and integrate them in global value chains.
- Distribution of tractors, seeds, fertilizers, and herbicides for 2024 farming season, and financial support of N100,000 per month for 4 months to 50 beneficiaries and provision of N30 million for farmer cooperatives by the Kashim Shettima foundation
- Revival of Nigeria- Brazil bilateral ties which had stalled for over a decade.
Food Security
- Inauguration of presidential food systems coordination unit. Tasked with harnessing resources and ideas from stakeholders to modernise farming practices, increase crop yields, and ensure food sufficiency.
NCP And Economic Reforms
- Promoting market-driven economy
- Revitalizing the bank of agriculture and increasing capital base to N1.5 trillion.
Nutrition
- Chairing the national council on nutrition. Establishing a 5-year national multi-sectoral plan of action for food and nutrition
- Establishment of nutrition 774 initiative in the NEC to provide lifesaving nutritional support in all local governments.
- Establishment of house committee on nutrition at federal and state legislatures.
Human Capital Development
- Ambition to position Nigeria among 80 top countries on global human capital index.
- Addressing improved education, healthcare and skills training to boost economic growth and create more productive workforce.
- 24 million Nigerians to benefit from FG HCD initiatives. Launching of HCD dashboard to monitor progress in youth unemployment and learning poverty.
MSMEs
- Launching of expanded MSME clinics
- Clinics have been launched in Ogun, Benue, Enugu, Jigawa And Ekiti States, with FG grants to many business owners
- MSME clinics boosting economic empowerment and supporting small scale enterprises, financing access to markets, skills and regulatory compliance.
- Launching of major ultramodern fashion hubs.
Energy Infrastructure
- Inauguration of the board of Nigeria independent systems operator (NISO) to address national grid stability.
- Championing of African Atlantic gas pipeline and Lake Chad recharge to address energy shortages in West Africa, strengthen Nigeria’s export footprint and boost agricultural resilience in the Sahel.
