President Bola Ahmed Tinubu last night broke the ice on the long-suspended presidential media chat.
He explained how inflation at 34.6 per cent will be brought down, among other critical national issues.
During his 2025 Appropriation Bill presentation before the National Assembly, the President ambitiously announced that he would bring down inflation to 15 per cent next year.
The President fielded questions from seven journalists drawn from broadcast and print media in Ikoyi, Lagos.
The session was moderated by Reuben Abati of Arise Television and a former media adviser to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.
President Tinubu shed light on such issues as the removal of petrol subsidy, price control, tax reform, financial systems, Livestock Development, Value Added Tax (VAT) sharing formula, Student Loans and the stampedes at the weekend in Oyo, Anambra and Abuja, which led to the death of many Nigerians.
“I don’t believe in price control,” the President declared emphatically while responding to a question.
To another, he fired: “I have no regret removing petrol subsidy.”
In the one-hour-long interview aired on all national television networks from 9pm, the President did not parry or shy away from any question. He also did not mince words.
He spoke boldly, with clarity of taught and with poise:
It was indeed a very sad and serious incident.
Losing lives in such a manner is tragic.
Organizers need to ensure proper discipline and organization in society. My condolences go to the affected families.
As someone who has been giving out commodities for over 25 years, I understand the importance of proper organization to avoid such mishaps.
It is critical that if you don’t have enough to give, you don’t attempt to publicize it or create chaos.
Even in countries like America and Britain, food banks operate with strict organization, ensuring people take turns and respect queues.
This incident is a grave error on the part of the organizers, and we must learn from it.
Are we only looking at it from the organizers’ perspective, or are we also considering the goodwill of those giving what they can?
It’s sad that proper organization was lacking.
As a society, we must be more disciplined.
My condolences to the families of those who lost their lives.
This unfortunate event reflects the lack of order in our daily lives, like at bus stops where people rush instead of forming a queue.
It’s a grave mistake on the part of the organizers, but we must learn from it.
Things are improving, and this shouldn’t dampen the festive spirit.
Let’s move forward and do better next time.
Produce more for consumption locally, give a reasonable level of low interest to farmers, improve the security for the farmers to return to their farms and produce more food.
Encourage procurement of pharmaceuticals; the government will put incentives in place to harness what is possible.
