.Tasks Nigerians on peaceful coexistence
.Assures Jos crisis will soon become a thing of the past
Deji Elumoye in Abuja
Vice President Kashim Shettima has expressed optimism about the performance of the Naira at the foreign exchange market, saying it will appreciate more as the dollar continues to crash.
According to him, President Bola Tinubu had to end fuel subsidy and ensure the unification of the multiple exchange rate because the former arrangement was producing billionaires overnight.
Shettima, who spoke at the weekend when a delegation of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) led by its President, Gabriel Idahosa, paid him a courtesy visit in his office at the State House, Abuja, noted that the Dollar will further crash against the Naira, saying “Naira went haywire and some people were celebrating but inwardly we were laughing at them because we knew that we have the leadership to reverse the trend. Asiwaju knows the game, and truly the naira is gaining and the difference will drop further”.
The Vice President recalled that the quality of leadership provided by President Tinubu as Governor of Lagos state laid the foundation for the massive development witnessed in the state, adding that “we will always thank President Tinubu for providing the blueprint for the development of Lagos that we are seeing today”.
He further assured that the Tinubu administration is doing its best to address challenges in the power sector because it is aware that power is absolutely essential.
“We are determined to ensure that we generate jobs for our youths. Honestly, the President’s obsession is to live in a place of glory, to transform this country to a higher pedestal. He wants to leave a legacy, one of qualitative leadership because the hope of the black man, the hope of Africa rests with Nigeria.
“I want to assure you that President Tinubu is one of you. He understands your ecosystem. In this government, you have an ally and a friend,” Shettima further noted.
Earlier, the LCCI President, Idahosa, presented some of the organisation’s recommendations to the Vice President, including “more innovations to address the insecurity challenge, considering its multidimensional impact on the economy.”
He also urged the Tinubu administration to ensure a significant upswing in the pace and scale of alternative policy measures that promote credit access, stimulate investment, and support entrepreneurship.
“This could include targeted interventions such as concessional lending facilities, loan guarantees, and interest rate subsidies tailored to the needs of SMEs and key sectors of the economy like agriculture, manufacturing, and power technology,” Idahosa added.
Meanwhile, the Vice President has urged Nigerians to live peacefully among themselves and learn how to accommodate each other.
Shettima made the imploration weekend when a delegation from the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) led by its President, Dr. James Neminebor, paid him a visit at the State House, Abuja.
The Vice President was responding to an appeal made by the ANAN President for land in Abuja to enable the association to relocate its University to the FCT.
He said, “No matter how long the night is, it must give way to the light of the dawn. The crisis we have in Jos will soon be over. Jos is the most hospitable city in this country in terms of weather. If we can harness the potentials of Jos and the Plateau as a whole, I believe that we can transform this nation into a better place.
“In one way or the other, we should learn how to accommodate each other; we should learn how to embrace one another. My SSA Media, Stanley Nkwocha, is a Jos boy. Jos is ideal; Jos is not an ethnic identity. Some of the Hausas, the Fulanis, the Kanuris and the other ethnic groups living in Jos were born and bred in Jos. They don’t have any other place to call home.
“The beauty of the Jos experience is that we have the generality of Nigerians called Northern Igbos. He (Nkwocha) is Igbo; Owelle Rochas Anayo Okorocha is a Northern Igbo. This gentleman (Nkwocha) speaks Hausa more than I do. We also have Sir Emeka Offor and so many of them.
“I believe that we should learn to imbibe in Nigeria that culture of tolerance, of togetherness because I will rather be a small fish in a big pawn than to be a big fish in a small pawn. We are a kaleidoscope of colours; the sooner we realise it, the better”.
Shettima however asked the association to channel its request through the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Office of the Vice President, to enable him to follow it up with the relevant authorities.
Earlier in his speech, ANAN President, Dr. Neminebor, told the Vice President that there was need to introduce a new value orientation where the issue of discipline will become a culture for Nigerians, even as the association recommended the setting up of Anti-corruption Recovery Investment and Management Commission to prevent the re-looting of recovered assets in the country.
