The All Progressives Congress (APC) Professionals Forum has appealed to Nigerians to see the Federal Government reforms and the country’s challenges, as short term pains for long term gains.
Malam Isa Yuguda, the Chairman of the forum’s Board of Trustee said this at a news conference on Friday in Abuja.
Yuguda said the forum had taken stock of the management of the economy and the country in the past nine months under President Bola Tinubu.
He added that the forum was convinced that the Tinubu-led administration had little choice about the courageous economic reforms it had introduced to tackle the country’s challenges.
He listed some of the initiatives to include the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of all foreign exchange rate windows among others.
He said while the government was making efforts to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy on Nigerains, only a few State Governments had followed suite.
“It is however a fact that only a handful of states have introduced meaningful measures to cushion the effect of the removal of subsidy.
“So we are joining other Nigerians to urge all state governors to toe the path of the federal government in bringing succour to our people,” he said.
He advised state governments to channel large portion of their increased federal allocations to food production and transportation and other intervention to ameliorate the conditions of the people in their states.
“A lot has been said of the initiatives by Tinubu’s administration to reduce the burden of Nigerians.
“But in truth, those initiatives including the introduction of gas powered buses are slow in coming and must be expedited to bring relief to the people,” Yuguda said.
He applauded Tinubu for reading the riot act to government officials who had been slowing down government’s reforms.
“As a forum of technocrats and professionals in the APC, we are not unaware of the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy in the country, but in our view, it is an expected development.
“Having taken stock of the management of the economy and by extension the country in the past nine months.
“We are convinced that the Tinubu administration had little choice about the courageous economic reforms it introduced to tackle the lingering challenges.
“We urge Nigerians to see the current situation as short term pains for long term gains,” Yuguda said.
He lauded Tinubu on cost-cutting measures and the planned implementation of the Stephen Oronsaye report aimed at rationalising government agencies.
Yuguda said implementing the report was yet another difficult but important decision to take.
He said that the country would save about N300 billion annually on wanton expenditures if the report which was first submitted 12 years ago was implemented.
“We know that the last two administrations set up white paper committees towards the end of their respective administrations.
“We are hopeful that in implementing the Oronsaye report, measures are taken to avert job losses.
“We look forward to the report being implemented, and expect significant cost saving and more efficiency in the delivery of service to Nigerians,” he said.
Yuguda said that the government was making efforts to boost food production through interventions like the N200 billion intervention to cultivate 250,000 hectares of land following the declaration of a state of emergency.
He, however, advised states governors in whose domains the lands were to invest more in agriculture.
“It is just nine months in the four-year tenure of Tinubu and from our assessment at APC Professionals Forum, his administration is on track.
“And we hope to provide a one year score card of the administration by the time President Tinubu will be marking his first anniversary in office,”he said.(NAN)
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