President Bola Tinubu has declared that his government will implement a new national minimum wage this year, especially for workers in the public sector.
The president, who spoke during a nationwide broadcast on New Year Day, said his administration would work assiduously to ensure all Nigerians feel the impact of his government.
According to Tinubu, the present administration will not ignore the economic aspirations and the material well-being of the poor, the most vulnerable and working-class people in society.
“It is in this spirit that we are going to implement a new national living wage for our industrious workers this New Year. It is not only good economics to do this, but it is also a morally and politically correct thing to do,” he said.
Tinubu added that in this New Year, his government would accelerate its efforts to ensure all the fiscal and tax policy reforms it needed to put in place were codified and simplified to ensure the business environment did not destroy value.
He said on every foreign trip he had embarked on, his message to investors and other business people had been the same, that Nigeria is ready and open for business.
Tinubu vowed to fight every obstacle that impedes business competitiveness in Nigeria and that he would not hesitate to remove any clog hindering the path to making Nigeria a destination of choice for local and foreign investments.
He explained that in his 2024 Budget presentation to the National Assembly, his administration’s eight priority areas included national defence and internal security, job creation, macro-economic stability, investment environment optimization, human capital development, poverty reduction and social security.
“Because we take our development agenda very seriously, our 2024 budget reflects the premium we placed on achieving our governance objectives,” he said.
Additionally, the President promised Nigerians that although the present times might be rough and tough he gave the assurance that such hardship would not last for a prolonged period.
Speaking during his 2024 New Year broadcast, the President said Nigerians were “made” for “this period” and advised them never to flinch or falter.
Said Tinubu: “Dear Compatriots, take this from me: the time may be rough and tough, however, our spirit must remain unbowed because tough times never last. We are made for this period, never to flinch, never to falter.
“The socio-economic challenges of today should energize and rekindle our love and faith in the promise of Nigeria. Our current circumstances should make us resolve to work better for the good of our beloved nation. Our situation should make us resolve that this New Year 2024, each and every one of us will commit to be better citizens.”
Speaking on the security situation in the country, the President also said security agencies under his government had worked diligently and surreptitiously to free captives from their abductors throughout the country, adding that while “while we can’t beat our chest yet that we had solved all the security problems, we are working hard to ensure that we all have peace of mind in our homes, places of work and on the roads.”
The president added that having laid the groundwork of economic recovery plans within the last seven months of 2023, his administration was now poised to accelerate the pace of service delivery across sectors.
Tinubu said in December during COP28 in Dubai, the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and him agreed and committed to a new deal to speed up the delivery of the Siemens Energy power project that would ultimately deliver a reliable supply of electricity to homes and businesses under the Presidential Power Initiative which began in 2018.
He added that other power installation projects to strengthen the reliability of the nation’s transmission lines and optimise the integrity of the National grid were ongoing across the country.
Tinubu said his administration realized that no meaningful economic transformation could happen without a steady electricity supply, stressing that in 2024, his government is moving a step further in its quest to restart local refining of petroleum products with Port Harcourt Refinery, and the Dangote Refinery which shall fully come on stream.
The president stated that to ensure constant food supply, security and affordability, his administration would step up its plan to cultivate 500,000 hectares of farmlands across the country to grow maize, rice, wheat, millet and other staple crops.