Independence anniversary: Tinubu’s broadcast instills renewed hope in Nigerians

An economist, Prof. Uche Uwaleke, says President Bola Tinubu’s Independence Day anniversary broadcast will instill renewed hope in Nigerians, especially regarding his administration.

Uwaleke, President, Association of Capital Market Academics of Nigeria (ACMAN), said this in an interview with our reporter, while reacting to Tinubu’s Independence Day broadcast on Sunday in Lagos.

Uwaleke said that the President highlighted more on significant and impactful steps taken by the government to address the current economic challenges to improve the lives of ordinary people.

He mentioned that the President’s speech reiterated promises made in previous broadcasts, particularly regarding efforts to mitigate the impact of fuel subsidy removal.

The economist said, “I would say the President’s speech essentially renewed the promises made by him during his previous broadcast to the nation, regarding efforts made to cushion the impact of the fuel subsidy removal.

“These promises include the arrangements to bring in CNG-powered buses, expansion in the cash transfer scheme involving 15 million households and the monthly increase in salaries of low-income earners for the next six months.”

Uwaleke, however, said that many Nigerians expected to hear more comprehensive measures to alleviate the present hardships faced by the population.

He believed that some of these measures are still being developed and, therefore, were not included in the President’s speech.

“The fact is that many Nigerians had expected to hear more far reaching measures to ease the present hardship most people are going through.

“My take is that some of these measures are still in the works and so were not included in his speech,” Uwaleke said.

On the new leadership of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Uwaleke said that the nomination of Yemi Cardoso as the Governor, did not follow the legal process as outlined in the bank’s Act.

He said, “as much as having a substantive CBN Governor, as quickly as possible, it is in the interest of financial markets and important that due process, as stipulated in the CBN Act, be followed.

“I had expected the convening of an emergency meeting of Senate to confirm the nominees of the President before assumption of office.”

Recall that Tinubu, in his Independence Day broadcast, said “he was attuned to the hardships that have come as he has a heart that feels and eyes that see.

The President said his administration now carried the costs of reaching a future Nigeria where the fruits of the nation would be fairly shared among all, not hoarded by a select and greedy few.

According to him, we will have a Nigeria where hunger, poverty and hardship are pushed into the shadows of an ever fading past.

Tinubu said that a thorough housecleaning of the den of malfeasance the CBN had become.

“That housecleaning is well underway. A new leadership for the Central Bank has been constituted.