President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has pledged to make lower living costs, productive employment and industrial expansion the central priorities of the next phase of his administration, saying Nigeria must now translate economic reforms into tangible improvements in the lives of citizens.
Tinubu made the pledge on Thursday in his Independence Day address marking Nigeria’s 66th anniversary, where he declared that the country had moved beyond the emergency phase of economic reforms and was entering what he described as an “age of prosperity.”
The President said the immediate priority would be to reduce the cost of living by lowering the cost of producing and transporting goods and improving the efficiency of the country’s productive sectors.
“Our priority is to bring down the cost of living. We will achieve this by lowering the cost of producing and moving the things Nigerians consume,” he said.
To achieve this, Tinubu said the government would expand mechanised irrigation and dry-season farming, improve access to seeds and fertiliser, increase agricultural mechanisation and invest in storage and transportation.
He also pointed to ongoing investments in roads, railways and ports designed to connect farms and factories more efficiently with markets.
The President said reducing production and transportation costs would ultimately translate into lower prices for consumers.
He explained that when farmers produce at lower cost, fewer crops are lost after harvest, manufacturers spend less on electricity and goods move more efficiently from producers to consumers, the savings should eventually be reflected in market prices.
Beyond food prices, Tinubu said his administration was placing jobs, enterprise and industrial growth at the centre of its economic programme.
He said Nigeria’s large youthful population presented an opportunity to expand production, create businesses and develop new industries rather than allow young people to become trapped in unemployment and economic hardship.
“We are therefore placing jobs, enterprise, and industrial growth at the heart of our government’s policies,” he said.
Tinubu said the government would use Nigeria’s gas resources to power new industries, support the revival of factories in major industrial centres and expand digital connectivity to underserved communities.
He added that investment would also be directed towards skills development, infrastructure and financing for Nigerian businesses.
The President expressed his desire to see more Nigerians engaged in manufacturing, more Nigerian farms supplying cities and industries, and more Nigerian companies exporting goods to international markets.
“I want to see more Nigerians making things. I want to see more Nigerian farms feeding our cities and supplying our factories. I want to see Nigerian businesses selling Nigerian goods to the whole world,” he said.
Tinubu also acknowledged that many Nigerians were still struggling with the immediate pressures of food, education, healthcare and transportation costs.
He said the government would therefore continue strengthening social interventions while pursuing long-term economic growth.
According to him, direct support for vulnerable households, improvements to the National Social Register, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund and CREDICORP would complement broader efforts to create productive opportunities.
The President said the government would also continue working with states and local governments to strengthen primary healthcare, basic education and other essential public services.
He maintained that social programmes should serve as a bridge towards prosperity rather than become a substitute for economic opportunity.
“Our objective is not to manage poverty more efficiently. We will defeat it,” Tinubu said.
He acknowledged that achieving the objective would require sustained economic growth, discipline and the creation of millions of productive opportunities across the country.
Tinubu said the next phase of his administration would therefore focus on ensuring that the foundation laid by the reforms translates into improved living standards and broader economic opportunity.
“The age of reform has done its work. Now begins the age of prosperity,” he declared.
