The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has emphasized that he didn’t come to loot whatever riches the country has left, that he is there basically because Nigerians trust him enough to vote him into office, knowing his ability to retool the economy.
Tinubu made this statement at a meeting with the Forum of Former Presiding Officers of the National Assembly, led by former Senate President Ken Nnamani.
The meeting was attended by 16 former presiding officers, including former senate presidents, former speakers of the House of Representatives, former deputy senate presidents, and former deputy speakers of the House of Representatives.
PBAT was seen in a video addressing the group emphatically stating: “I didn’t come to look for money and exploit the situation; I came to work. I asked for the votes, and Nigerians gave them to me.”
He acknowledged that he is aware about the raising poverty in the country and the inability of the common man to survive but encouraged that there is need for the citizens to be patient as hard work is the only thing that can alleviate poverty, pledging that he will ‘rebuild’ the country.
In his word: “People say we’re hungry; yes, I understand that, but you cannot just take a free bowl, we must work hard, we’ve sustained 25 years of democracy this year, We don’t want to keep the people hungry and angry, but we say be patient—there is no free beer parlor anymore, we will retool and rebuild Nigeria economy, I assure you with your cooperation.”
On the issue of refineries, petroleum and subsidy, he however stated categorically that there was no subsidy in the budget given to him as against the public outrage that it was his administration that remove subsidy on fuel.
“When I resumed, I said the subsidy was gone; there was no subsidy in the budget handed over to me, I can’t be creative and look for magic lamp to create budget and ever since, we’ve maintained that.
”Yes, there is hardship, but how did we get here? What did we do when we had very high crude production?” “We neglected our communities; we neglected the goose that lays the golden eggs; we forgot even to give them a good standard of living. The president added.
He appreciated the meetings for the trust and support given to his office, encouraging everyone present that there is need for all the hands to be on deck while they get things back into shape and expressed confidence that Nigeria can progress through collaboration and inclusiveness while making a positive difference in the nation’s infrastructure, food and energy security, education and long-term economic stability.

”Regardless of party differences of the past and difficulty of the present, you still believe in me and what we all plan for this country.
”I thank you very much; no one will do it better than us. I have travelled the world and seen how developed countries have done it for themselves through collaboration, inclusiveness and financial structure.
”We forgot to educate our children. Go round and look at the dilapidated schools. The education environment must be decent enough for pupils to want to learn.
”We can complain from now till eternity that the school enrolment is low. But did we do anything to encourage the enrolment process? We must ask ourselves because it is a matter of conscience,” he stated.