The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has voiced his confidence in President Bola Tinubu’s ability to replicate the transformative achievements witnessed in Lagos State on a national scale. Through a statement released by his media assistant, Segun Tomori, Alake expressed optimism regarding Nigeria’s ability to overcome its current economic challenges.
Alake attributed the existing economic hardship to what he termed as a “gestation period” of economic restructuring and reforms. He emphasized President Tinubu’s determination to rejuvenate Nigeria’s economy and propel it towards sustainable growth through his Renewed Hope agenda.
Highlighting Tinubu’s track record of economic transformation during his tenure as the governor of Lagos State, Alake underscored the President’s capability to steer the nation towards prosperity. He emphasized Tinubu’s commitment to implementing impactful policies and reforms aimed at revitalizing the economy and fostering inclusive growth.
Alake’s statement reflects a positive outlook on Nigeria’s economic future under President Tinubu’s leadership, emphasizing the potential for significant progress and development. It underscores the importance of decisive leadership and visionary governance in navigating the country through economic challenges and towards a brighter future.
“Going down memory lane to the experience in Lagos state, the then governor Tinubu in 1999, met a state that was almost insolvent, with a monthly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of N600 million,” Alake said.
“And a wage bill of over N1.1 billion monthly, with little or no resources to cater to infrastructure and other sectors of the economy.
“President Tinubu took similar measures in Lagos as he is taking in Nigeria, to turn the tide and financially re-engineer the state. Today, the state is the fifth largest economy in Africa, bigger than most African countries.
“What we are going through is the gestation period of reforms and policies for economic restructuring and like the President will say, it is like throes of pregnancy, that a pregnant woman goes through. After delivery, she heaves a sigh of relief.”
The minister urged Nigerians to be patient with the government as the current economic situation would soon stabilise with positive results from ongoing reforms.
“For the first time, Nigeria has a president well-versed in public finance. I am confident in this administration’s capacity to diversify the economy, plug leakages, and redirect the economy to a path of sustainable growth,” he said.
“The future of this country is extremely very bright. What we need to do is to exude confidence in our ability and capacity to weather the storm of restructuring, economic and societal restructuring.”
“As we restructure our economy, putting in physical infrastructure, we must also restructure our minds and mental capacity to be at par with physical development.”
“ So that we can efficiently and judiciously enjoy the benefits of physical development. With the cooperation of Nigerians, the tide will turn very soon, and we all will be proud,” he added