Home » Economy: Tinubu has surpassed his predecessors —Senator Arise

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ayodele Arise, has said that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s bold economic initiatives and other policy pronouncements have been impactful, despite criticism from opposition party stalwarts.

Senator Arise, who represented Ekiti North Senatorial District in the National Assembly between 2007 and 2011, made the declaration at the weekend while speaking with journalists in Abuja.

The APC chieftain, who recalled the strident criticisms that trailed the removal of fuel subsidy, said most Nigerians are now convinced that it was a bold initiative aimed at freeing public funds previously cornered by a privileged few and channeling them to critical sectors for the overall benefit of the country.

He also commended the establishment of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), which he noted has made education accessible to indigent but promising Nigerian youths.

He said: “As far as I am concerned, from my own position as a businessperson, I say that the decision of Mr President has benefitted a lot of Nigerians. It has been able to move our economic growth positively. We have been able to realise that through so many statistics that we have seen.

“First of all, we know that inflation has come down drastically, and we know that we now have money to fund institutions like NELFUND. Of course, the President doesn’t want anybody to say, ‘I have been unable to go to school because of school fees.’

“The NELFUND has come to the rescue of many people who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to complete or even start their education up to tertiary level. Now, we can take some of these things for granted, but we can notice that since the President came in, prior to President Tinubu becoming President, students enrolled in full-time programmes in universities spent six or seven years for a four-year course.

“Since the President came in, I think attention has been given to the demands and grievances of bodies like ASUU and NASU, and we have seen people going to school and graduating after four years. This was the basis of what we call brain drain from Nigeria, but that has been significantly arrested because people now know that when they start school, they can finish in four years like their colleagues who have gone abroad to study. That’s one aspect.”

Senator Arise also noted that President Tinubu’s insistence on autonomy for local councils was meant to bring development to the grassroots.

“Then, for local government, Mr President has insisted that local government funds should remain with the local governments for developmental purposes, for grassroots development, so that local governments will be more meaningful in terms of their impact on people living in rural areas, where the majority of the population resides.

“When you look at urban-rural migration, things like providing jobs at the local government level, we can see some development, maybe in roads, hospital management. Even now, I think primary schools have to go back to the local governments so that they can actually fund the schools, and the people they are answerable to can ask questions.

“Unlike before, when you asked questions of local government chairmen, they would say, ‘Oh, we don’t get the money; we only get a few millions every month,’ and they couldn’t do much. Now, the President has broken that jinx. It is the practicality of ensuring that things happen at the local government level.

“In his last remarks on this issue, Mr President was very clear: let the local governments have their money. That money has now become meaningful because of some of the benefits we have seen from subsidy removal. Before now, it was only benefitting a few people. Some people would import, or pretend to import, bring documents to Nigeria, collect subsidy, and disappear.

“Some even had ships on the high seas that disappeared to neighbouring countries. Some of the ships practically vanished into thin air. We can remember so many instances.

“Stopping that required a lot of courage, and he has always been a courageous man. Only a man of courage could have effected that and stood by his policies.

“I also know that in the solid minerals sector, which could be the next point of revenue generation for the country, refineries are being established to assist miners in processing their products for export. There are so many things the President has done to bring more revenue and more impact to society than people care to admit.

“Some of these things, I believe, as a businessperson and a politician, if we do get some benefits, people should speak out and say things are getting better.”

Ardo  Zubairu 

National Secretary 

TInubu Re- Election Project 2027 . Office Phones: 

08033305195

08098885195

07033454053

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