Vice-President Kashim Shettima has urged Nigerians to be “generous” towards President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying the President took difficult decisions to prevent the country’s economy from collapsing.
Shettima spoke in Lagos on Saturday after meeting with Tinubu, who returned to Nigeria a few days ago following his annual vacation.
The Vice-President said he and Tinubu had remained in regular communication throughout the President’s time abroad.
“We are quite thrilled that he’s back on the beat. Advances in science and technology have made it possible to really have impactful leadership wherever one might find himself,” Shettima said.
Shettima urged Nigerians to appreciate what he described as the difficult economic decisions taken by Tinubu since assuming office, particularly the removal of the petrol subsidy and the unification of multiple exchange rates.
“It is absolutely essential that Nigerians need to be generous to this poor man,” he said.
The Vice-President said the country’s foreign reserves stood at about $3.9 billion when the administration assumed office, arguing that the amount was insufficient to finance fuel imports for one month.
According to him, Tinubu demonstrated the courage to take what he described as “power-reaching decisions” to prevent the economy from deteriorating further.
Shettima said the economy was “teetering on the verge of collapse” when Tinubu became President.
“He saved the economy. I want Nigerians to understand this fundamental truism. We were on the road to Caracas; he saved our economy; he saved the nation from falling into pieces,” he said.
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The Vice-President acknowledged the economic difficulties currently facing Nigerians but said the hardship would not continue indefinitely.
“We appreciate the pains Nigerians are going through, but tough times do not last forever; tough people do,” he added.
Shettima also said the Federal Government was rolling out programmes and projects aimed at reducing the impact of the economic challenges on citizens.
“In the next couple of weeks, we are going to launch e-logistics in the North-West. We are going to run 10,600 electric tricycles to ease the pains of the people in the North-East,” he said.
He added that 300 buses and e-taxis would also be deployed as part of measures to “ameliorate the sufferings” of Nigerians.
According to Shettima, Tinubu remains concerned about the welfare of ordinary Nigerians and has “a lot of empathy for the common man.”
The Vice-President also highlighted the Nigerian Education Loan Fund as a major intervention designed to enable students from low-income families to access higher education.
He assured Nigerians that the administration would continue to introduce programmes and projects aimed at mitigating the effects of the economic challenges.
Shettima also acknowledged the increasing political activities ahead of the 2027 general elections, saying the administration would continue to combine governance with political engagement.
“Politics is in the air, but we’ll combine politics and governance,” he added.