President Bola Tinubu, in a New Year’s address to the nation, highlighted the challenges Nigeria faces, including high inflation and insecurity, significantly impacting the country’s quality of life since 2015.

Despite these issues, the President assured Nigerians that his administration is diligently addressing these concerns and working towards national betterment.

“Despite the challenges we face, my administration is dedicated to diligently addressing the pressing concerns of high inflation, insecurity, and the rule of law. We are steadfast in our commitment to advancing the nation towards a better future,” he said.

The President expressed gratitude for the past year, acknowledging its challenges and celebrating the peaceful transfer of power, marking another milestone in Nigeria’s unbroken democracy. He emphasized the clear mandate given by the people to improve the nation across various sectors, underlining the core mission of his presidency.

Highlighting actions taken during his administration, the President mentioned difficult decisions made to address fiscal challenges, including the removal of long-standing fuel subsidies and changes in the foreign exchange system. He empathized with citizens affected by rising living costs and underemployment.

President Tinubu affirmed the administration’s efforts in improving security and laying the groundwork for economic recovery. Notably, plans to enhance electricity supply, restart local petroleum refining, and cultivate farmlands to ensure constant food supply and affordability were outlined.

“Our efforts in bolstering security and laying the groundwork for economic recovery remain steadfast. Plans to enhance electricity supply, restart local refining, and cultivate farmlands aim to ensure sustained food supply and affordability,” he said.

The President emphasized the government’s commitment to creating a conducive business environment, implementing fiscal and tax policy reforms, and prioritizing key areas such as national defense, job creation, poverty reduction, and social security in the 2024 budget.

Highlighting the administration’s dedication to inclusivity and equitable opportunities, President Tinubu underscored the goal of reducing inequality and ensuring equal opportunities for hardworking Nigerians.

Encouraging collective responsibility, unity, and cooperation among citizens, the President called for joint efforts to work towards peace, progress, and stability in Nigeria. He urged all to contribute to building a prosperous nation and concluded with warm wishes for a happy and prosperous 2024 for all Nigerians.

Read his full speech below:

Dear Compatriots,

It gives me immense joy to welcome each and every one of you – young and old- to this brand new year 2024. We must lift up our hands to Almighty God, in gratitude, for his grace and benevolence to our country and our lives in the year 2023 that has just gone by.

Though the past year was a very challenging one, it was eventful in so many ways. For our country, it was a transition year that saw a peaceful, orderly, and successful transfer of power from one administration to another, marking yet another remarkable step in our 24 years of unbroken democracy.

It was a year, you the gracious people of this blessed nation, entrusted your faith in me with a clear mandate to make our country better, revamp our economy, restore security within our borders, revitalize our floundering industrial sector, boost agricultural production, increase national productivity and set our country on an irreversible path towards national greatness that we and future generations will forever be proud of.

The task of building a better nation and making sure we have a Nigerian society that cares for all its citizens is the reason I ran to become your President. It was the core of my Renewed Hope campaign message on the basis of which you voted me as President.

Everything I have done in office, every decision I have taken, and every trip I have undertaken outside the shores of our land, since I assumed office on 29 May 2023, have been done in the best interest of our country.

Over the past seven months of our administration, I have taken some difficult and yet necessary decisions to save our country from fiscal catastrophe. One of those decisions was the removal of fuel subsidy which had become an unsustainable financial burden on our country for more than four decades. Another was the removal of the chokehold of a few people on our foreign exchange system that benefited only the rich and the most powerful among us. Without a doubt, these two decisions brought some discomfort to individuals, families, and businesses.

I am well aware that for some time now the conversations and debates have centered on the rising cost of living, high inflation which is now above 28%, and the unacceptable high under-employment rate.

From the boardrooms at Broad Street in Lagos to the main streets of Kano and Nembe Creeks in Bayelsa, I hear the groans of Nigerians who work hard every day to provide for themselves and their families.

I am not oblivious to the expressed and sometimes unexpressed frustrations of my fellow citizens. I know for a fact that some of our compatriots are even asking if this is how our administration wants to renew their hope.

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 being better citizens.

Since our administration took over the mantle of office, security has improved. Silently, we have worked to free captives from abductors. While we can’t beat our chest yet that we have 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.

Having laid the groundwork of our economic recovery plans within the last seven months of 2023, we are now poised to accelerate the pace of our service delivery across sectors.

Just this past December during COP28 in Dubai, the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and I agreed and committed to a new deal to speed up the delivery of the Siemens Energy power project that will ultimately deliver a reliable supply of electricity to our homes and businesses under the Presidential Power Initiative which began in 2018.

Other power installation projects to strengthen the reliability of our transmission lines and optimize the integrity of our National grid are ongoing across the country.

My administration recognizes that no meaningful economic transformation can happen without a steady electricity supply. In 2024, we are moving a step further in our quest to restart local refining of petroleum products with Port Harcourt Refinery, and the Dangote Refinery which shall fully come on stream.

To ensure constant food supply, security, and affordability, we will step up our plan to cultivate 500,000 hectares of farmlands across the country to grow maize, rice, wheat, millet, and other staple crops. We launched dry season farming with 120,000 hectares of land in Jigawa State last November under our National Wheat Development Programme.

In this New Year, we will race against time to ensure all the fiscal and tax policy reforms we need to put in place are codified and simplified to ensure the business environment does not destroy value. On every foreign trip I have embarked on, my message to investors and other business people has been the same. Nigeria is ready and open for business.

I will fight every obstacle that impedes business competitiveness in Nigeria and I will not hesitate to remove any clog hindering our path to making Nigeria a destination of choice for local and foreign investments.

In my 2024 Budget presentation to the National Assembly, I listed my administration’s 8 priority areas including national defense 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.

We will work diligently to make sure every Nigerian feels the impact of their government. The economic aspirations and the material well-being of the poor, the most vulnerable and the working people shall not be neglected. 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.

I took an oath to serve this country and give my best at all times. Like I said in the past, no excuse for poor performance from any of my appointees will be good enough.

It is the reason I put in place a Policy Coordination, Evaluation, Monitoring, and Delivery Unit in the Presidency to make sure that governance output improves the living conditions of our people.

We have set the parameters for evaluation. Within the first quarter of this new year, Ministers and Heads of Agencies with a future in this administration that I lead will continue to show themselves.

Fellow Nigerians, my major ambition in government as a Senator in the aborted Third Republic, as Governor of Lagos State for eight years, and now as the President of this blessed country is to build a fair and equitable society and close the widening inequality. While I believe the rich should enjoy their legitimately earned wealth, our minimum bargain must be that any Nigerian who works hard and diligent enough will have a chance to get ahead in life. I must add that because God didn’t create us with equal talents and strengths, I cannot guarantee that we will have equal outcomes when we work hard. But my government, in this new year 2024 and beyond, will work to give every Nigerian equal opportunity to strive and to thrive.

For the new year to yield all its good benefits to us as individuals and collectively as a people we must be prepared to play our part. The job of building a prosperous nation is not the job of the President, Governors, Ministers, Lawmakers, and government officials alone. Our destinies are connected as members of this household of Nigeria. Our language, creed, ethnicity, and religious beliefs even when they are not the same should never make us work at cross purposes.

In this new year, let us resolve that as joint heirs to the Nigerian Commonwealth, we will work for the peace, progress, and stability of our country. I extend this call to my political opponents in the last election. The election is over. It’s time for all of us to work together for the sake of our country.

We must let the light each of us carry – men and women, young and old- shine bright and brighter to illuminate our path to a glorious dawn.

I wish all of us a happy and prosperous year 2024.

May God continue to bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Being the Text of a Speech Delivered by Governor Alex Otti to Ndi Abia on January 1, 2024, to Mark the Celebration of the New Year

1. Umu nne m Ndi Abia, I joyfully welcome all of us to the New Year, 2024. We thank the Almighty God for preserving our lives over the past year and for bringing us into the joy of what promises to be a great cycle for our people.

2. We also remember our loved ones who journeyed to their final resting place and all who suffered different forms of personal tragedies in the past year. We pray for peace to the souls of the deceased, fortitude to the families of the bereaved, and restoration to all who went through painful losses in the last 12 months.

3. 2023 was a watershed moment in the political history of our great State and I am most grateful to God and the individuals and groups He used in resetting the political direction of our beloved Abia. Nothing that was achieved in our political history in the past year could have happened without the divine direction and infinite support of the Almighty who orders human events as it pleases Him. We therefore give all honour, adoration and glory to our Heavenly Father.

4. We have marched victoriously into the New Year and I join every family in the state to celebrate the joy of a new beginning. We have been called to embrace the New Year with great hope and optimism, confident that no challenge, however daunting, shall overwhelm us.

5. The past year offered us the opportunity to take back our collective destiny and I am glad we drove home the message that in a democracy, power belongs to the people. It was the year the majority came to a consensus that we had stayed for far too long on the mountain of mediocrity and failure, and needed to advance forward to reach the Promised Land.

6. Although we are still far from our desired destination, the fact, as attested to by many, including apolitical observers, and even honest partisan watchers in other political camps, is that Abia is changing for the better and a new sense of optimism is emerging about our dear state and its future.

7. With our modest accomplishments in the last six months on road reconstruction and rehabilitation, especially in Aba and Umuahia, reinvigoration of the health and education sectors, restoration of security in communities that had been previously overrun by criminal gangs, effective urban waste management, prompt payment of salaries, support to the economically poor and vulnerable amongst others, it is evident that we are on a mission to rebuild and restore the glory of our fatherland.

8. Umu nne m, you may wish to recall that while speaking to you shortly after we took the oath of office on May 29, 2023, we made a solemn commitment that we shall make regular payment of salaries and pensions a priority. It gladdens my heart to report that our workers and retirees now know exactly when their entitlements will be paid and thankfully, we have never failed them. In the New Year as we had promised, we shall review the salaries of all the employees of the State Government upwards to reflect the economic realities of the time. Work on this is in the final stages.

9. Beyond our strides in improving the social and economic conditions of the Abia public, we have also done very well in fostering harmonious relationship with the other arms of government, the legislature and the judiciary, providing all the necessary support as we consistently build trust in ways that make for robust engagements in the discharge of our constitutional responsibilities to Ndi Abia.

10. The media, members of the civil society, traditional, religious and community leaders have been very supportive in driving the message of the New Abia to all parts of the state. May I assure you that we do not take your goodwill for granted.

11. The year 2024 will be our year of consolidation on the gains made in the past 7 months. We recently signed the 2024 appropriation bill of N567.02 billion into law after It had been passed by the State House of Assembly. To show the direction of this government, an unprecendented 84% of this sum has been earmarked for capital expenditure including road projects, rebuilding and remodelling of schools and hospitals and a proposal to build a best-in-class medical village in the State to stem the tide of medical tourism by our citizens.

12. Beyond the huge sums which the state shall be investing in the critical sectors to spur economic growth, create employment opportunities and revive local businesses, particularly MSMEs, we have already been engaging members of the organised private sector to take advantage of our business-friendly policies to invest in the State, especially in manufacturing, trade and commerce, transportation, mass housing schemes, hospitality, sports and tourism. Our general approach as a government is to create the right environment to support the success of businesses in ways that enable job creation and the expansion of opportunities for individuals and local entrepreneurs in all parts of the state.

13. Technology has been at the heart of our transformation and reform agenda. We shall move to a new gear in 2024 starting with the digitization of the operations of our public institutions for ease of access and efficiency in service delivery. We shall also leverage the advantages of technology to drive state-wide human capital development, economic empowerment of the youth and most importantly, job creation in high reward areas, especially outside our geographical borders.

14. The world is changing rapidly and we cannot afford to be left behind. ICT offers us a pathway to sustained socio-economic development. As a government, we are keen to take advantage of the opportunities emerging therein to advance our governance objectives.

15. My office, working closely with the ministries of science and technology and digital economy and SMEs, has articulated the State’s strategic blueprint for the ICT sector. In the New Year, the components, including hands-on training and exposure, business plan competition with financial grants and seed funding to those with bankable ideas, mentorship and so much more shall be rolled out for the benefit of all interested participants.

16. Recently, I signed the Greater Aba Development Authority (GADA) bill as passed by the State House of Assembly into law. GADA, on the strength of the law setting it up, will drive the holistic development of Aba into a functional, modern mega city, supporting enterprise growth, family life and leisure as promised in our manifesto.

17. In 2024, we shall continue our policy of being attentive to the needs of the poor and vulnerable. In addition to our independent initiatives aimed at supporting economically disadvantaged individuals and families, we shall continue to honour our commitments in the various programmes of the multilateral agencies we are subscribed to, mainly ones that are targeted at persons living in chronic poverty, nursing mothers and those with difficult medical conditions.

18. The State recently secured the support of the European Union to develop a robust social register. When completed, the Abia Social Register will direct our allocation of resources to the vulnerable. Additionally, it will help relevant agencies of government to monitor how the various programmes and initiatives sponsored by the State and its Partners impact them.

19. Before the end of this month, we shall be setting up an international body of advisers known as Abia Global Economic Advisory Board, (GEAB) made up of accomplished internationally recognised experts from across the globe who will help in our journey to take our state to the world as a preferred investment destination.

20. We plan to expand our set of economic advantages as a State by working closely with the Mayors at the LGAs to make every community a major centre of production. We are currently developing a more comprehensive resource map of the State where the comparative advantage of each community shall be captured. The map shall be used as a marketing instrument to investors and development partners.

21. In the social services sector, we shall continue our strategic investments in health and education. The 2024 budget proposal has already made substantial provisions for our programmes in the two sectors with a combined allocation of more than 35% of the total budget outlay. Even with this generous spending proposal, we shall also keep our eyes on grants and other aid schemes in support of education from local and international development partners.

22. Our commitment is to close the funding gap in education and health in the first instance and then see to it that the funds are channelled to meet the most pressing needs of the sectors, paying careful attention to infrastructure, personnel recruitment and development, and the efficiency of service delivery. As I had said repeatedly, our administration is determined to make Abia the home of the most educated, healthiest and wealthiest citizens in this region.

23. Fellow Abians, as you would agree with us, our plans are grand and our commitment genuine. Our promise is that we shall never let you down.

24. As you equally know, we cannot achieve much of our grand plans for 2024 if citizens are not faithful to their civic responsibilities, particularly regular payment of taxes and other statutory financial obligations. In the New Year, we encourage you to take full advantage of the innovative structures we have put in place, including digital platforms and channels, for the regular payment of your individual and business taxes.

25. You are also expected to cooperate with the security agencies by reporting suspected criminal activities and individuals in your communities and neighbourhoods to the nearest security station for prompt action.

26. Let me repeat my earlier warning that the State Government shall not look kindly to any traditional or community leader, landlord or head of any organisation who harbours criminals. Any tolerance, subtle or open support for crime in any part of the state would be seen as an act of sabotage and the government will not hesitate to do what it must do to protect the life and property of the citizens.

27. In the new year, government will pay a lot of attention on environmental sanitation. We have done a lot to keep our towns and villages clean. However, we still see pockets of garbage and filth around us. We would appeal to everyone to join in the crusade to keep Abia clean. You will be hearing more on this from the state orientation agency.

28. You will recall that during the campaigns and up till recently, we had made a promise to pay the arrears of pensions being owed our retired civil servants by the end of 2023. It’s unfortunate to report that a few challenges have conspired to ensure that we were unable to keep this promise. Based on the figures available to us, we had arranged the funds to make good this promise. However, before making the payment, we decided to conduct a digital verification of the pensioners. To our utter shock, we found that there were pensioners who had been owed since 2014. To ensure that the verification exercise did not add extra burden to the already owed pensioners, we took it down to them at their respective wards. Those who were sick or too old, had their own verification taken to their houses. At the end of the exercise, just about a week ago, the total figure required for the payment was twice the amount we had provided. While we continue to engage the National Union of Pensioners, we believe we will be able to make the payment before the end of the first quarter of the new year. If required, we may go back to the house of assembly for necessary approvals to ensure that this payment is made.

29. Our expectation is that 2024 will be a great year for everyone. However, we must admit that we cannot make perfect predictions on what the year will bring as several factors are entirely outside our control. Our assurance to all as we begin another journey of hope and expectations is that your government will always be there for you, offering necessary support and direction to help you take advantage of the many opportunities that are to emerge in the course of the year, as well as navigate the storms of unexpected events.

30. My dear brothers and Sisters, let me use this opportunity to welcome you all to a brand-new year. Thank you for listening and have a wonderful 2024.

Dr Alex C. Otti, OFR.