ABUJA — President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, on Thursday rated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu highly on economic reforms and security, saying the administration has repositioned Nigeria on the path of growth and stability.
Akpabio also pledged the unwavering support of the National Assembly to the Tinubu administration, particularly in critical areas such as state policing, infrastructure development, increased crude oil production and economic reforms.
The Senate President spoke after leading a delegation of Senate Principal Officers on a traditional Sallah homage to President Tinubu at his Lagos residence to mark the Eid al-Kabir celebration.
According to him, the visit was not only to celebrate with the President but also to pray for his continued health, wisdom and success in leading the country.
“We came here to felicitate the President and also wish him Baraka the Salah on this Eid-el-Kabir and to pray for him for continuous good health and wisdom. We also prayed for our nation, for those in captivity to be released and for peace to reign in Nigeria throughout his tenure and beyond,” Akpabio said.
The Senate President commended Tinubu’s economic policies, particularly the removal of multiple exchange rates, fuel subsidies and other fiscal practices he said had weakened the economy before the current administration came on board in 2023.
“We appreciate Mr. President for his reforms, which have done a lot to reposition Nigeria on the trajectory of growth and constrain the kind of economy that we met when he came on board in 2023,” he stated.
Akpabio said the country inherited an economy burdened by unsustainable spending, multiple exchange rates and crude oil forward sales that prevented Nigeria from maximising revenue from oil production.
“It is very difficult to grow a non-oil economy because what we met on ground, we had what they call future sales and we were not making money from the crude oil we produce because of those future sales.
“We also had continuous expenditure through what they call Ways and Means, which in layman’s language means spending and printing money without corresponding income. He has stopped all that.
“We met multiple exchange rates. He has stopped all that. We met a situation of false subsidies. He has stopped all that,” Akpabio added.
The Senate President further listed the elimination of fuel scarcity and long queues at filling stations as one of the most visible achievements of the administration.
“We appreciate the fact that in the last three years he has brought the very long queues people used to experience at filling stations to an end,” he said.
Akpabio also praised the administration’s tax reform and harmonisation drive, describing it as one of the most significant fiscal reforms undertaken in recent times.
“The harmonisation of taxes in Nigeria, including taxes dating back to 1939, is commendable. For me, I think he has done excellently well,” he said.
He, however, noted that despite the progress made, more work still needed to be done, especially in the area of security.
According to him, the National Assembly would continue to partner with the executive arm to strengthen the country’s security architecture and legislative framework.
“We are assuring him of the co-creation of lawmakers in Nigeria, particularly the National Assembly. I will stand by him so long as everything he proposes is positive for the future growth of this country,” Akpabio declared.
Speaking on security, the Senate President said the country had witnessed improvements under Tinubu, stressing that insurgents no longer control territories or hoist flags in any part of Nigeria.
“There is no part of Nigeria today where the flag of insurgents, whether Boko Haram or any other group, is being hoisted,” he said.
He explained that current security threats were largely in the form of isolated attacks on soft targets such as schools, churches and mosques.
“What we see now are insurgents going after soft targets — schools, churches and mosques — places people ordinarily would not expect security presence,” he stated.
Akpabio also commended security agencies for curbing organised bomb attacks across the country, though he admitted that more efforts were still required given Nigeria’s vast population and territorial size.
“But a lot still needs to be done because Nigeria is very vast with a population of over 240 million people,” he added.
On the issue of state police, Akpabio disclosed that the National Assembly was already working on a framework that would allow states to participate more actively in internal security while ensuring proper regulation through a national state police commission.
“We are looking at ways of creating a positive and not a negative state police system, one that can have a national state police commission to regulate conduct, promotion and training,” he said.
He added that citizens also had a responsibility to remain vigilant and cooperate with security agencies by reporting suspicious activities within their communities.
The Senate President further revealed that lawmakers were considering increasing funding for policing through improved allocations to the Police Trust Fund.
“We are looking at moving from 0.5 per cent to one per cent of revenue from the federation account into the Police Trust Fund for infrastructure and equipment,” he disclosed.
Akpabio also highlighted the need to increase Nigeria’s crude oil production, especially with the growing local demand from the Dangote Refinery and ongoing crude sales in naira.
“Now that we have started selling crude in naira and Dangote Refinery is doing well and taking a lot of crude, we need to ramp up production to boost exports and foreign exchange earnings,” he said.
He added that the country was also looking forward to attracting more foreign direct investment into critical sectors, especially agriculture and infrastructure.
