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President Tinubu’s National Speech [FULL TEXT]
My fellow citizens,
1. I want to talk to you about our economy. It is important that you understand the reasons for the policy measures I have taken to combat the serious economic challenges this nation has long faced.
2. am not going to talk in difficult terms by dwelling on economic jargon and concepts. I will speak in plain, clear language so that you know where I stand. More importantly, so that you see and hopefully will share my vision regarding the journey to a better, more productive economy for our beloved country.
3. For several years, I have consistently maintained the position that the fuel subsidy had to go. This once beneficial measure had outlived its usefulness. The subsidy cost us trillions of Naira yearly. Such a vast sum of money would have been better spent on public transportation, healthcare, schools, housing and even national security. Instead, it was being funnelled into the deep pockets and lavish bank accounts of a select group of individuals.
4. This group had amassed so much wealth and power that they became a serious threat to the fairness of our economy and the integrity of our democratic governance. To be blunt, Nigeria could never become the society it was intended to be as long as such small, powerful yet unelected groups hold enormous influence over our political economy and the institutions that govern it.
5. The whims of the few should never hold dominant sway over the hopes and aspirations of the many. If we are to be a democracy, the people and not the power of money must be sovereign.
6. The preceding administration saw this looming danger as well. Indeed, it made no provision in the 2023 Appropriations for subsidy after June this year. Removal of this once helpful device that had transformed into a millstone around the country’s neck had become inevitable.
7. Also, the multiple exchange rate system that had been established became nothing but a highway of currency speculation. It diverted money that should have been used to create jobs, build factories and businesses for millions of people. Our national wealth was doled on favourable terms to a handful of people who have been made filthy rich simply by moving money from one hand to another. This too was extremely unfair.
8. It also compounded the threat that the illicit and mass accumulation of money posed to the future of our democratic system and its economy.
9. I had promised to reform the economy for the long-term good by fighting the major imbalances that had plagued our economy. Ending the subsidy and the preferential exchange rate system were key to this fight. This fight is to define the fate and future of our nation. Much is in the balance.
10. Thus, the defects in our economy immensely profited a tiny elite, the elite of the elite you might call them. As we moved to fight the flaws in the economy, the people who grow rich from them, predictably, will fight back through every means necessary.
11. ur economy is going through a tough patch and you are being hurt by it. The cost of fuel has gone up. Food and other prices have followed it. Households and businesses struggle. Things seem anxious and uncertain. I understand the hardship you face. I wish there were other ways. But there is not. If there were, I would have taken that route as I came here to help not hurt the people and nation that I love.
12. What I can offer in the immediate is to reduce the burden our current economic situation has imposed on all of us, most especially on businesses, the working class and the most vulnerable among us.
13. Already, the Federal Government is working closely with states and local governments to implement interventions that will cushion the pains of our people across socio-economic brackets.
14. Earlier this month, I signed four (4) Executive Orders in keeping with my electoral promise to address unfriendly fiscal policies and multiple taxes that are stifling the business environment. These Executive Orders on suspension and deferred commencement of some taxes will provide the necessary buffers and headroom to businesses in the manufacturing sector to continue to thrive and expand.
15. To strengthen the manufacturing sector, increase its capacity to expand and create good paying jobs, we are going to spend N75 billion between July 2023 and March 2024. Our objective is to fund 75 enterprises with great potential to kick-start a sustainable economic growth, accelerate structural transformation and improve productivity. Each of the 75 manufacturing enterprises will be able to access N1 Billion credit at 9% per annum with maximum of 60 months repayment for long term loans and 12 months for working capital.
16. ur administration recognises the importance of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and the informal sector as drivers of growth. We are going to energise this very important sector with N125 billion.
17. Out of the sum, we will spend N50 billion on Conditional Grant to 1 million nano businesses between now and March 2024. Our target is to give N50,000 each to 1,300 nano business owners in each of the 774 local governments across the country.
18. Ultimately, this programme will further drive financial inclusion by onboarding beneficiaries into the formal banking system. In like manner, we will fund 100,000 MSMEs and start-ups with N75 billion. Under this scheme, each enterprise promoter will be able to get between N500,000 to N1million at 9% interest per annum and a repayment period of 36 months.
19. To further ensure that prices of food items remain affordable, we have had a multi-stakeholder engagement with various farmers’ associations and operators within the agricultural value chain.
20. In the short and immediate terms, we will ensure staple foods are available and affordable. To this end, I have ordered the release of 200,000 Metric Tonnes of grains from strategic reserves to households across the 36 states and FCT to moderate prices. We are also providing 225,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer, seedlings and other inputs to farmers who are committed to our food security agenda.
21. Our plan to support cultivation of 500,000 hectares of farmland and all-year-round farming practice remains on course. To be specific, N200 billion out of the N500 billion approved by the National Assembly will be disbursed as follows:
-Our administration will invest N50 billion each to cultivate 150,000 hectares of rice and maize.
-N50 billion each will also be earmarked to cultivate 100,000 hectares of wheat and cassava.
22. This expansive agricultural programme will be implemented targeting small-holder farmers and leveraging large-scale private sector players in the agric business with strong performance record.
23. In this regard, the expertise of Development Finance Institutions, commercial banks and microfinance banks will be tapped into to develop a viable and an appropriate transaction structure for all stakeholders.
24. Fellow Nigerians, I made a solemn pledge to work for you. How to improve your welfare and living condition is of paramount importance to me and it’s the only thing that keeps me up day and night.
25. It is in the light of this that I approved the Infrastructure Support Fund for the States. This new Infrastructure Fund will enable States to intervene and invest in critical areas and bring relief to many of the pain points as well as revamp our decaying healthcare and educational Infrastructure.
26. The fund will also bring improvements to rural access roads to ease evacuation of farm produce to markets. With the fund, our states will become more competitive and on a stronger financial footing to deliver economic prosperity to Nigerians.
27. Part of our programme is to roll out buses across the states and local governments for mass transit at a much more affordable rate. We have made provision to invest N100 billion between now and March 2024 to acquire 3000 units of 20-seater CNG-fuelled buses.
28. These buses will be shared to major transportation companies in the states, using the intensity of travel per capital. Participating transport companies will be able to access credit under this facility at 9% per annum with 60 months repayment period.
29. In the same vein, 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.
30. Once we agree on the new minimum wage and general upward review, we will make budget provision for it for immediate implementation.
31. 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.
32. Fellow Nigerians, this period may be hard on us and there is no doubt about it that it is tough on us. But I urge you all to look beyond the present temporary pains and aim at the larger picture. All of our good and helpful plans are in the works. More importantly, I know that they will work.
33. Sadly, there was an unavoidable lag between subsidy removal and these plans coming fully online. However, we are swiftly closing the time gap. I plead with you to please have faith in our ability to deliver and in our concern for your well-being.
34. We will get out of this turbulence. And, due to the measures we have taken, Nigeria will be better equipped and able to take advantage of the future that awaits her.
35. 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. That money will now be used more directly and more beneficially for you and your families.
36. For example, we shall fulfill our promise to make education more affordable to all and provide loans to higher education students who may need them. No Nigerian student will have to abandon his or her education because of lack of money.
37. Our commitment is to promote the greatest good for the greatest number of our people. On this principle, we shall never falter.
38. We are also monitoring the effects of the exchange rate and inflation on gasoline prices. If and when necessary, we will intervene.
39. I assure you my fellow country men and women that we are exiting the darkness to enter a new and glorious dawn.
40. Now, I must get back to work in order to make this vision come true.
41. Thank you all for listening and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Seven OPEC+ members decided on Sunday to again raise oil production quotas as Gulf countries reel from the Middle East war.
Ministers from key OPEC+ countries Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman met virtually on Sunday and “decided to implement a production adjustment of 188 thousand barrels per day,” a statement from the organisation said, adding that “this adjustment will be implemented in August 2026”.
Gulf countries had to cut output after the near-paralysis of the Strait of Hormuz orchestrated by Iran during the war in the Middle East, which blocked their oil exports for several months.
Between the first quarter of 2026 and May, combined production by Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Kuwait — three of the seven countries raising their quotas — fell by some six million barrels per day, OPEC data have shown.
But on June 17, Tehran and Washington signed a memorandum of understanding, committing themselves to removing obstacles to maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz for the duration of talks following the signature.
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Giovanni Staunovo, a commodity analyst at the Swiss bank UBS, told AFP that “for now, production is probably still below” OPEC+’s targets.
Time-consuming restart
Since the memorandum of understanding was signed, ship transport in the region has slowly recovered, with oil prices dropping sharply to levels comparable to those seen before the war in anticipation of a gradual return to normal.
Oil supplies through this shipping lane may already have exceeded ten million barrels a day, according to a US official quoted by the Bloomberg agency.
But the oil currently leaving the strait has up to now been sitting in tankers or storage facilities, said Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen, adding that “shut-in production takes time to restart”.
“Assuming shipping continues to normalise, July will show an improvement with August probably being the month where the pickup accelerates,” he told AFP.
Cohesion at Stake
“For next year, everybody is anticipating a surplus,” Jorge Leon, an analyst at Rystad Energy, told AFP.
Rebuilding the inventories that countries tapped during the conflict should help absorb the flows at first, but producers may face a strong downward pressure on prices later on.
And OPEC+, already weakened by the departure of the United Arab Emirates from the group in May, will have to manage sliding prices while members will push for production increases.
Iraq, in particular, has asked the cartel to raise production quotas to make up for the shortfall it incurred during the war in the Middle East, the Iraqi Oil Ministry said in late June.
But Hansen said the need for a higher quota “is not imminent” as production volumes are still far from their pre-conflict levels.
“Iraq’s request may become part of the 2027 capacity review, where production baselines will be examined,” he added.
At the end of the year, the OPEC+ is indeed due to reassess members’ quotas based on their ability to produce more, which could become a thorny issue.
Courtesy – AFP
Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State has reaffirmed that his administration will not negotiate with bandits, declaring that security operations against criminal groups will continue until they surrender or face the full weight of the law.
The governor made the declaration through his Chief of Staff, Alhaji Mukhtar Musa, during the inauguration of the Secretariat of the Association of Zamfara State Indigenes Residing in Kaduna on Sunday.
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Speaking at the event, Musa said the Lawal administration remains committed to ending insecurity through sustained collaboration with security agencies across the state.
He disclosed that the state government would continue providing logistics, equipment, ammunition and other operational support to security forces battling banditry.
“The governor will never negotiate with bandits. Those willing to surrender should do so or face the law,” Musa said.
According to him, the government will sustain its offensive against bandits until lasting peace is restored across Zamfara State.
He also stressed the importance of community intelligence, urging residents to promptly report suspicious movements and activities to security agencies to strengthen the fight against insecurity.
Musa assured members of the association that Governor Lawal remains committed to restoring peace and delivering meaningful development across the state.
Describing the gathering as a reflection of unity among Zamfara indigenes living outside their home state, he commended the organisers for establishing the association’s secretariat in Kaduna and disclosed that the governor would visit the association in the future to strengthen ties.
As part of the government’s support, Musa announced a donation of ₦5 million to assist the association’s activities.
Earlier, the association’s Chairman, Alhaji Garba Balarabe, described the inauguration as a historic milestone, saying the secretariat would serve as a centre for unity, coordination and the welfare of members.
He revealed that the association distributed 280 bags of 10kg rice, vegetable oil and spaghetti to less privileged members and appealed to the Zamfara State Government to assist in acquiring a permanent office in Kaduna.
Also speaking, the Zamfara Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, Dr. Abdulrahman Tumbido, commended the association’s humanitarian initiative, noting that many Zamfara indigenes had relocated to Kaduna due to insecurity.
Despite the security challenges, Tumbido expressed optimism that peace and stability would soon return to Zamfara.
The National President of the Zamfara State Indigenes Association, Alhaji Usman Balarabe, called for greater unity among members and pledged continued support for women, children and other vulnerable groups.
In her remarks, the association’s Ex-Officio, Hajiya Aishatu Maradun, urged the state government to sustain support for programmes aimed at strengthening the association.
Representing Engr. Abdullahi AbdulKarim Tsafe, Engr. Garba Abubakar formally inaugurated the secretariat.
He praised the association for supporting vulnerable members and recommended translating its constitution into Hausa to enhance understanding and ensure effective administration.
The event attracted government officials, traditional rulers, politicians, community leaders and members of the association from Kaduna, Abuja and other parts of the country.
The United States has said it will closely monitor Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, with US Congressman Riley Moore stating that President Donald Trump’s administration will be paying “very close attention” to how the country’s next polls are conducted.
Moore, a Republican representing West Virginia, made the remarks during an interview with NoireTV while responding to questions about Nigeria’s upcoming general elections.
According to him, Washington is committed to observing both the outcome and the conduct of the elections to ensure they are credible and transparent.
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“We’re certainly going to be watching these results and how these elections unfold and how they’re executed. And that’s something that myself and the administration are going to be paying very close attention to,” Moore said.
The congressman also disclosed that the US House of Representatives is considering an appropriations bill containing provisions relating to Nigeria, particularly on religious freedom and US security assistance.
“We’re working on Chris (Smith)’s bill, which obviously I’m a co-sponsor of that bill. But I’d say, more importantly, what people need to pay attention to is the appropriations bill that we’re going to have on the floor today,” he stated.
Moore explained that the proposed legislation contains what he described as “pretty strong and aggressive language” regarding Nigeria’s relationship with the United States.
“There’s a lot of language that I put on that bill that relates to Nigeria, the persecution of Christians and restrictions on security assistance to the government of Nigeria, and steps that they have to take,” he said.
He added that the bill is expected to become law and would have a binding impact on future US-Nigeria relations.
“That bill’s likely to become law. We’re about to, hopefully, pass that here today. And so there’s some pretty strong and aggressive language in that bill that’s going to be binding as it relates to our relationship to Nigeria moving forward,” Moore added.
The lawmaker further revealed that he would continue engaging President Donald Trump’s administration on issues concerning Nigeria, disclosing that he was scheduled to meet the US president during a dinner engagement.
“I continue to work with the administration on next steps that we’re going to take. I’m actually going to see President Trump tonight. I’ll be having dinner with him and some other members, so yeah, I continue to talk to him about these issues, and it’s very important to him,” he said.
Moore is a co-sponsor of the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026, introduced alongside Congressman Chris Smith in February.
The proposed legislation seeks to require the US Secretary of State to submit periodic reports to Congress on efforts to address religious persecution and mass atrocities in Nigeria.
The bill also proposes regular assessments of Nigeria’s compliance with international religious freedom obligations, US security assistance, sanctions, humanitarian support, and measures taken by the Nigerian government to protect vulnerable communities and prosecute those responsible for attacks.
Earlier in April 2026, the US House Appropriations Committee approved provisions in its annual State Department funding bill imposing stricter oversight and conditions on financial assistance to Nigeria.
The proposal recommends withholding 50 percent of US foreign assistance allocated to Nigeria until it is certified that the Nigerian government is taking effective steps to curb religious violence.
It also requires that the funds support investigations and prosecutions of violence committed by Fulani militia groups and that the government facilitates the safe return of displaced persons.
If passed into law, the legislation is expected to shape future diplomatic relations, security cooperation and financial assistance between the United States and Nigeria.
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