By Muhammad Mamman
Vice-President Kashim Shettima has declared that President Bola Tinubu’s tough economic policies are a game-changer for Nigeria, designed with the nation’s best interests at heart. Speaking with gusto at the Presidential Villa in Abuja while hosting bigwigs from the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA), led by their dynamic president Jani Ibrahim, Shettima radiated confidence in the government’s vision.
Shettima trumpeted the administration’s laser focus on turbocharging Nigeria’s economy, rolling out blockbuster reforms like scrapping the fuel subsidy, streamlining the chaotic exchange rate system, and shaking up tax policies. “Nigeria’s open for business, and you lot are the ones steering the ship!” he told the NACCIMA crew, adding with a wink, “I’m guilty as charged for cosy chats with the business world. This is how giants like South Korea were forged!”
Unfazed by pushback from powerful interests, Shettima hailed Tinubu’s steely resolve. “The President’s a man who gets commerce—he cut his teeth in it, running the show as Mobil’s financial guru,” he said. He gave a nod to Tinubu’s gutsy move to ditch the fuel subsidy, a millstone that’s weighed down governments for decades. “The oil barons fought tooth and nail, but Tinubu held firm, putting Nigerians first,” Shettima roared.
NACCIMA’s Ibrahim, fresh from his election as the group’s chief at their 65th annual bash in Ilorin, praised Shettima’s leadership across heavyweight economic bodies like the National Economic Council and the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council. “Prosperity hinges on a cracking partnership between government and business,” he said, pitching for regular pow-wows with Shettima’s office—twice a year, to be precise. He also urged the government to slot private sector reps into key trade, industry, and SME councils to keep the momentum sizzling.
With Tinubu’s reforms paving the way, Shettima’s rallying cry was clear: Nigeria’s ready to soar, and the private sector’s got the keys to the engine room!
