President Bola Tinubu has said that Nigeria needs leaders who would make tough decisions in the present for an enviable future for the country.
He also said that all Nigerians are going through the necessary pain that accompanied the subsidy removal policy, adding that it was important for the country’s development.
Tinubu in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale on Friday, said this while receiving the Southwest Muslim leaders at the State House, Abuja.
Speaking to the delegation led by the president of the Ummah, Rasaki Oladejo, the President said the current challenges facing the country are only temporary, assuring Nigerians that better days are coming.
“We have to believe in one country; we have to believe in Nigeria.
“We will do our best, and our economy will get better for the benefit of Nigerians.
“I am very sure of that, and we are putting in the work to ensure that,” the President said.
Tinubu assured that the policies and programmes of his administration are aimed at achieving a fairer, better and honest society where hard work is rewarded and where laziness reaps little.
He said “It is about our future. We must guarantee our future. Almighty Allah will not give us a burden that we cannot bear.
“He has put us here for a purpose. It may look difficult; even rough, but it will get better. We avoided it (removing the petroleum subsidy) for 40 years.
“We are all going through the pain now, but for Nigeria not to collapse, we had to remove the subsidy,” Tinubu said.
He, however, commended the leaders for their prayers and support, while assuring them that his administration is determined to empower the youth with skills and also create an enabling environment for them to prosper.
Speaking during the visit, Oladejo who was in the company of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, commended Tinubu for his courage in removing the petroleum subsidy and for initiating necessary, even if difficult reforms.
“There had been no leader, military, or civilian that could break this hard nut of removing petroleum subsidy for us to grow as a country. You have done it. God will see you through,” the Ummah leader said.
