Tinubu says treasury has saved N500b per month for 2 months
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
More than N1 trillion has been saved since fuel subsidy was removed on May 29, Bola Tinubu disclosed on Monday in a national broadcast, his second since he became President and a refreshing departure from Muhammadu Buhari who hardly engaged directly with citizens in all his eight years of the locust bred in the Villa.
The amount translates to N1 trillion savings per month, which Tinubu said would have been squandered by “smugglers and fraudsters” but will now be channelled into interventions targeting families countrywide.
“In a little over two months, we have saved over a trillion naira that would have been squandered on the unproductive fuel subsidy which only benefitted smugglers and fraudsters,” Tinubu explained, to assuage feelings about the current national hardship in his scramble for legitimacy.
He acknowledged the agony caused by the lag in palliative measures these past 62 days and urged Nigerians to “look beyond the present temporary pains and aim at the larger picture.”
He added: “I plead with you to please have faith in our ability to deliver and in our concern for your well-being.
“All of our good and helpful plans are in the works. More importantly, I know that they will work.”
The funds so far saved from subsidy removal “will now be used more directly and more beneficially for you and your families,” Tinubu pledged.
He also promised to get the country out of economic turbulence through the measures his administration has taken so far.
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Upward review of salaries of public sector workers
Tinubu also promised to raise workers’ salary from a total package of N500 billion on the table to provide palliatives for the impact of subsidy removal.
He said it is part of the general plan to ease the pains of inflation, and talks are ongoing with organised Labour to grow the economy and mitigate hardship.
His words: “We are also working in collaboration with the Labour unions to introduce a new national minimum wage for workers. I want to tell our workers this: your salary review is coming.
“Once we agree on the new minimum wage and general upward review, we will make budget provisions for it for immediate implementation.
“I want to use this opportunity to salute many private employers in the Organised Private Sector who have already implemented general salary review for employees.”