President Bola Tinubu reassured Nigerians of his commitment to fulfilling all pre-election promises in his New Year’s speech, adding that “tough times never last.”
As the jubilations greeting the New Year celebration take a bow, it is important to draw the attention of Nigerians to the promises made by the federal government in 2023 as we await its implementation in 2024.
Improved power supply
In November 2023, Maitama Tuggar, the minister of foreign affairs, said Nigerians will experience improved power supply by the first half of 2024.
He said electricity supply across the country will improve with the Siemens gas deal between Nigeria and Germany and the completion of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline project.
The minister said, “In the coming year by the first half of next year (2024), there will be a remarkable improvement in the electricity supply in Nigeria.”
Similarly, the president assured Nigerians in his speech that he had made a new deal with the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, during COP28 in Dubai to speed up the delivery of the Siemens Energy power project which will ultimately deliver a reliable supply of electricity to various homes and businesses under the Presidential Power Initiative.
Tinubu added that other power installation projects to strengthen the reliability of transmission lines and optimise the integrity of the National grid are ongoing across the country.
Improved security architecture
Nigeria is confronted with security challenges such as terrorism and banditry in the northwest; perennial insurgency in the northeast, already threatening the peace in the north-central; separatist militants in the southeast while ritual killing, kidnapping and cultism have found a place in the southwest and south-south geopolitical zones.
The activities of insurgents and bandits terrorising many parts of the country are not the only security problems Nigerians are battling with, the perceived inability of the security agencies to wade off the tide is a challenge on its own.
However, Bello Matawalle, the state minister of defence, has said that by November 2024, insecurity in the country will be a thing of the past.
“God’s willing, from now to November of 2024, all security challenges will be overcome,” Matawalle said in an interview with BBC.
Making national defence and internal security part of his administration’s 8 priority, President Tinubu assured Nigerians of improved security in 2024.
“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,” Tinubu said in his New Year speech.
New wage structure
The Minister of Information and Communication, Idris Mohammed, announced in December 2023 that a new wage structure would take effect from April 1, 2024.
Mohammed said the new wage structure is part of ongoing negotiations with labour unions.
Assuring Nigerians, the minister affirmed that the new wage structure was necessary to ease the burden of Nigerians and make life better for all.
Corroborating this in his New Year speech, the President said that his government “will implement a new national living wage for our industrious workers this New Year.”
Functional refineries
All four state-owned refineries in Port Harcourt, Kaduna and Warri are expected to be operational by the end of 2024 if the FG’s promises on the facilities are true.
With the recent completion of the mechanical phase of the turnaround maintenance on the Port Harcourt refinery, the facility with 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) capacity is expected to begin operation in the first quarter of 2024.
Tinubu affirmed in his speech that “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.”
Students Loan
Speaking at the 29th National Economic Summit in October 2023, President Bola Tinubu said his government’s Students Loan Programme will commence in January 2024.
“By January 2024, the new Students Loan Programme must commence. We are saying no more strikes to the future of our children and students,” the President said.
According to a BusinessDay report, the student loan is designed to douse the hike in tuition fees of higher institutions and ease the process of learning.
Loans for MSMEs
The office of the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, in collaboration with the Bank of Industry, is expected to begin the disbursement of loans to Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in January 2024.
A statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Job Creation & MSMEs stated that “The loans totalling about ₦75bn will be given to small businesses nationwide at an interest rate of 9%.”
The FG is reportedly set to build on its past collaborations with stakeholders across the public and private sectors to provide financial support for MSMEs in grants and loans.
Food supply and security
The President assured Nigerians of food supply, security and affordability to combat hunger in 2024 through the National Wheat Development Programme launched in November 2023.
Tinubu said, “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.”
As the new year’s clock is already ticking, Nigerians await the manifestations of these promises before the year ends.
