President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Monday assured Nigerians that his administration’s economic recovery plan was on the right path to realising the nation’s dreams and aspirations.
The president stated this at the State House while inaugurating seven new ministers after their confirmation by the Senate.
The president said his administration had steered the nation away from bankruptcy and stopped scavengers, profiteers and smugglers of our resources.
While congratulating the new ministers, the president charged them to be committed and resilient as they join other members of his cabinet working tirelessly to rescue the nation, reminding them that they were coming in to serve at a critical time.
“The moment is challenging; the present situation calls for a very serious commitment. Yours is a duty to serve and that is what you have come to do. I really appreciate the fact that you have taken the oath of office and ready to serve your nation at a time that we are facing the challenges of economic growth and other things like the security challenges on us.
“Economic recovery is on the right path. We have a good path to realise our dream and it is not just only for us, it is for our children and grandchildren to come. Despite the challenges, we faced the job of reengineering and retooling the economic path of this country. Yes, the cost of living has gone up; yes, I recognize that, and we have satisfied our obligations of paying a new minimum wage across the board.
“For us, it was a challenge when a nation was servicing its debt with 97% of its earned revenue. It is not but the end of the cliff but today I can report that we have brought that down to 65% and we have never defaulted in paying our obligations; we have met all obligations – both foreign and domestic. We have our heads above the waters,” he said.
While pointing out that such economic challenges were not peculiar to Nigeria, President Tinubu said his administration was committed to overcoming the challenges.
“Other countries too around us and across the world are facing challenges. There are a lot of crises in Europe and America. We know what pandemic has brought to the economies of the world, but we are navigating through this and we are working hard. We are not going to run away from our responsibilities; we are going to face it and we are facing it headlong,” the President stressed.
The newly inaugurated ministers are Dr Nentawe Yilwatda, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction; Alhaji Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi, Minister of Labour and Employment and Mrs. Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
Others are D lecJumoke Oduwole as Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment; Mr Idi Mukhtar Maiha as Minister of Livestock Development; Yusuf Abdullahi Ata as Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development; and Dr Suwaiba Said Ahmad as Minister of State for Education.