•Shettima
Vice President Kashim Shettima has declared that Nigeria has crossed a critical threshold in its economic reforms and is now on the path of sustained growth, urging Nigerians in the diaspora to support the transformation programme of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Shettima said the administration’s reforms were already producing tangible results, citing the growth of the country’s foreign reserves to more than $55 billion, improvements in the foreign exchange market and a 4.45 per cent expansion of the economy in the last quarter.
The vice president spoke yesterday during an interactive session with Nigerians in the United States at Nigeria House in New York, on the sidelines of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, reports The Nation.
He told the gathering that despite challenges confronting the country, the Tinubu administration was working to reposition the economy, particularly in education, healthcare, science and technology and agriculture, while creating an environment capable of attracting investment.
In a statement issued by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, Shettima said, “Rest assured that beyond the negative stories that you hear and see in the social media, Nigeria is open for business. We have crossed the Rubicon, and we are on the path of sustained growth”.
He called on Nigerians abroad to play a more active role in the country’s development, describing the diaspora’s knowledge, expertise, and intellectual capital as critical assets in Nigeria’s quest for economic transformation.
According to him, the administration intends to leverage the intellect of Nigerians abroad, which he described as “the greatest resource of the future.”
“Citizens of our country have the capacity and intellect to harness our nation’s potential and take it to greater heights”, the Vice President added.
Shettima said President Tinubu had shown courage in confronting difficult economic problems from the start of his administration, rather than blaming previous governments for the situation he inherited.
“When President Tinubu assumed office, he did not resort to trading blames and accusing his predecessor for the state of affairs of our nation. Rather, he took decisions that only a leader of courage and conviction would take”, he said.
The vice president said the administration’s economic measures had helped raise foreign reserves from $3.9 billion to more than $55 billion, alongside improvements in the exchange rate and economic growth.
He maintained that improvements in foreign reserves and the foreign exchange market would better protect diaspora remittances and investments by Nigerians living abroad.
Shettima said the government was determined to redefine modern governance and position Nigeria to take advantage of emerging global economic opportunities, particularly as attention increasingly shifts towards Africa.
“We are working day and night to reposition the Nigerian nation as investment confidence is returning to Nigeria, and the Dangote Refinery success story is a true manifestation in recent times,” he said.
The vice president also highlighted the administration’s interventions in education, saying more than 1.29 million students in tertiary institutions had accessed N125 billion through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund since the programme began.
On insecurity, Shettima acknowledged the challenges confronting the country but said the government was deploying available resources to tackle emerging threats, noting that security challenges were not peculiar to Nigeria.
He appealed to Nigerians, irrespective of their differences, to work towards building a united and prosperous country, insisting that national cohesion remained indispensable to development.
“Whatever binds us together supersedes whatever divides us as a people”, the Vice President said.
Shettima is in New York representing President Tinubu and leading Nigeria’s delegation to the 81st UN General Assembly, where he is scheduled to deliver Nigeria’s national statement on Thursday (today).
Nigeria’s engagements at the gathering focus on national interest, reform of global institutions, sustainable development, peace and security, and a more equitable international economic order.
Those at the diaspora engagement included Governors Babagana Zulum of Borno State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State, as well as Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele.
Also present were the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, Dr Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh; Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro; Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa; Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Chief Dele Alake; and Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim.
Others included the Minister of State for Budget and Economic Planning, Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite; Minister of State for the FCT, Dr Mariya Bunkure; Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim; Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States, Ambassador Kayode Are; heads of government agencies and senior officials of Nigeria’s missions in the United States.
