Shettima to Diaspora Nigerians: Be Ready for Robust Engagement With Tinubu Govt

•Abbas says president determined to tackle insecurity, create economic prosperity

Deji Elumoye and Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

Vice-President Kashim Shettima, has assured  Diaspora Nigerians of robust engagement in the policies and programmes of the administration of President Bola Tinubu, with a view to positioning Nigeria in its rightful place among the comity of nations.

He also urged Nigerians overseas to keep believing in their home nation, saying the country was on the right track under President Tinubu’s watch.

This was as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, has said the Tinubu administration in collaboration with the 10th National Assembly, was determined to tackle insecurity and engender economic prosperity.

Shettima, who spoke weekend during a meeting with members of the Nigerian community in the United States on the sidelines of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, said Nigeria was on the right path with the reforms being undertaken by Tinubu under the Renewed Hope Agenda.

He commended Nigerians in diaspora for their resilience and belief in the current Nigerian government, acknowledging their capacity to add value to the country’s transformation efforts.

He said, “I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart but I will have to come back to the US again and have a more robust engagement with you.

“Each one of you has value addition capabilities in your own way, and your experience is not something you can buy in the market. You have earned it.

“Continue to believe in Nigeria. Nigeria is on the right track. In the fullness of time, we will occupy our rightful place in the comity of nations.”

Shettima told the Nigerian community in the United States as well as others across the world to be proud of their heritage, noting that Nigeria’s positive developmental indices in all spheres were a reflection of well-thought-out policies of the Tinubu administration.

“Our foreign reserve is crossing the $40 billion mark, the sub-nationals are raking in trillions of naira and we are seeing unprecedented infrastructure investment across the entire country. We’re investing in the Nigerian youth and students as is the case with NELFUND,” he stated.

Earlier, Chairman/CEO of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, introduced some Nigerians who were recording giant strides abroad to the Vice President, stressing that under the Tinubu administration, the issue of Diaspora Nigerians was taking centre stage, and was being given the needed attention.

“Under this administration, it is easier for you to get your passport. Also, the non-resident Bank Verification Number (BVN) is now working under this administration.

“You don’t need to come home to get your BVN, and a lot of investment opportunities are now open and available. Most importantly, the economy is being transformed, and Nigeria is now a good place to invest,” she noted.

Nigerians present at the meeting said they were ready to invest in Nigeria in areas of mining, health, AI, fintech, creative industry and agriculture, among others, just as they praised the government’s efforts in the ease of doing business.

Tinubu Determined to Tackle Insecurity, Create Economic Prosperity, Asserts Abbas

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, has said the administration of President Tinubu in collaboration with the 10th National Assembly, was determined to tackle insecurity and engender economic prosperity.

Abbas made this known in Abuja on Sunday at ‘An Evening with 004’, an informal engagement between the Speaker and Nigerian youths, organised by the Office of the National Youth Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), led by Dayo Israel.

The speaker, in a statement yesterday by his Chief Press Secretary, Leke Baiyewu, noted that the Tinubu-led administration was working hard towards ensuring the security of lives and property.

He added that the administration was also working hard to create an enabling environment that would make crimes and criminality unattractive to the youth.

 “There’s no country in the world that can achieve any meaningful progress without adequate security. The President and the National Assembly, I’m sure if you observe, have worked very hard to put non-kinetic measures in place to ensure that security around the country is improved.

 “Like my own state, (Kaduna) just two weeks ago, the UK Ambassador to Nigeria gave my Governor (Senator Uba Sani) an award for the improved security within the state.

 “I believe within the next two years, and certainly the next four years of this administration – God willing, we will no longer be talking about insecurity, because the government will do whatever is necessary to ensure that we create more than any other thing the enabling environment that will mitigate and prevent insecurity,” he said.

The Speaker emphasised the inadequacy of Nigeria’s annual budgets, but expressed optimism that the tax reform initiatives of President Tinubu would substantially raise the revenue profile of the country.