President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has acknowledged that millions of Nigerians are still struggling to meet basic needs, including food, school fees, medical bills and transportation costs.
Tinubu made the admission in his Independence Day address, even as he maintained that his administration had laid the foundation for a more prosperous economy.
“I am also conscious that millions of our fellow citizens cannot wait for tomorrow,” the President said.
He said some Nigerian families were still struggling to provide their next meal, pay school fees, settle medical bills or raise enough money to get to work.
Tinubu argued that the difficulties facing such families did not begin with the economic reforms introduced by his administration.
According to him, the situation was the accumulated consequence of decades of low productivity, inadequate infrastructure, insufficient opportunity and institutions that had often failed those who needed them most.
“Their circumstances did not begin with the reforms of the last three years,” he said.
The President acknowledged that his administration could not erase within four years the problems that had accumulated over generations.
“We cannot erase in four years what accumulated over generations. But we can change its course,” he said.
Tinubu said the government’s objective was to build an economy capable of steadily lifting people out of poverty while ensuring that vulnerable citizens were not abandoned during the process.
He said the government was strengthening direct support for the poorest households and improving the National Social Register to ensure that assistance reaches people who genuinely need it.
The President also cited the Nigerian Education Loan Fund as part of efforts to ensure that children from low-income families would not have to abandon higher education because of their parents’ inability to pay fees.
He said CREDICORP was providing working Nigerians with access to consumer credit to acquire vehicles, solar systems, digital devices and other essential assets without having to save for years before purchasing them.
Tinubu also said the government was working with state and local governments to strengthen primary healthcare, basic education and other essential public services on which poorer Nigerians depend.
He said salaries and pensions had been paid on time and in full since 2023, while the national pension programme had also been reformed to benefit retirees and vulnerable citizens.
“These programmes are not substitutes for prosperity. They are a bridge to aid our nation’s citizens on their path towards it,” he said.
The President declared that the government’s objective was not merely to manage poverty but to defeat it.
He acknowledged that achieving this would take time, discipline, sustained economic growth and the creation of millions of productive opportunities across Nigeria.
Tinubu said the administration’s broader economic reforms were intended to create the conditions for such opportunities and ultimately make prosperity a lived experience for Nigerians.
