Senate President Godswill Akpabio has praised President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies, saying the reforms introduced since 2023 have helped place Nigeria on the path of recovery and growth.
Akpabio made the remarks on Thursday after leading principal officers of the senate on an Eid-el-Kabir visit to the President at his residence in Lagos.
According to him, the delegation visited Tinubu to celebrate the Sallah festival with him and offer prayers for the nation and its leadership.
“We came here to felicitate with the president and also wish him Barka da Sallah on this Eid-el-Kabir and to also pray for him for continuous good health and wisdom and pray for our nation, for those in captivity to be released, and for peace to reign in Nigeria,” he said.
The senate president commended the administration’s economic measures, noting that they had contributed to stabilising the nation’s economy after years of fiscal challenges.
“We also appreciated Mr President for his reforms, which have done a lot to reposition Nigeria on the trajectory of growth,” he said.
Akpabio explained that the current administration inherited a difficult economic situation marked by unsustainable financial practices and declining earnings from crude oil sales.
“It’s very difficult to grow a non-oil economy because what we met on the ground, we had what they call future sales, and we’re not making money on the crude oil that we produce because of future sales,” he said.
“And then we also had a situation of continuous expenses in the country as a result of what they call ways and means, which, in layman’s language, was expending money and printing money without earning income.”
He credited Tinubu with ending fuel scarcity, abolishing multiple foreign exchange rates and removing what he described as false fuel subsidies.
“He has stopped all that. We met multiple exchange rates. He has stopped all that. We met a situation of false subsidies. He has stopped all that,” he said.
“We also appreciate the fact that in the last three years, he has brought the very long queues that people used to experience in filling stations to an end.”
On security, Akpabio said the National Assembly would continue to support the President in efforts aimed at tackling insecurity across the country, even as he acknowledged that security challenges still persist.
“We can’t do it alone. National assembly will assist him to ensure that we improve in the area of security,” he said.
The senate president stated that insurgents now focus more on vulnerable communities because security operations had weakened their influence.
“What we see now are insurgents going to areas of soft targets. Going to churches. Going to mosques,” he said.
“There is no part of Nigeria today that has the flag of any insurgents, whether Boko Haram, being hoisted.”
READ ALSO: Presidential Aide: Tinubu Took Bullets For Nigeria To Survive
Akpabio disclosed that lawmakers were currently considering frameworks for the establishment of state police as part of broader efforts to strengthen security nationwide.
“We believe that working with him, the national assembly can come up with a solution, a framework that will enable the states to also partake in securing the lives and properties of the citizens, and that is in the area of the state police,” he said.
He added that the proposed structure would involve a national commission to oversee the operations and standards of state policing.
“We are looking at ways of creating a positive and not a negative state police and something that can have a national state police commission that will regulate the conduct of state policing and also promotion, training and all,” he said.
Speaking further, Akpabio said the administration’s infrastructure projects would have lasting economic benefits for the country, highlighting the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Lagos-Badagry-Sokoto road project as key examples.
“The coastal road is one area that he will be remembered for. And then of course the Lagos-Badagry-Sokoto has about 74 dams that will revolutionise the agricultural sector in the country,” he said.
He also revealed that the National Assembly was considering increasing funding for the police trust fund to improve policing infrastructure and equipment nationwide.
“Police in the country itself is a major issue that the National Assembly is looking at,” he said.
“You are actually looking at from 0.5 percent to 1 percent of revenue from the production account going into the police trust fund. That will be for police infrastructure and equipment.”