Tinubu administration has come to redefine modern governance – Shettima

Vice President Kashim Shettima on Tuesday declared that the new administration led by President Ahmed Bola Tinubu is poised to redefine the meaning and concept of modern governance in the country to facilitate development.

“He is going to provide the leadership and we will rally round him, give him our unequivocally support and loyalty to see to the realization of the Nigerian dream—a Nigeria where every black man in the world should be proud of,” Shettima said when he resumed office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Tuesday.

Waxing philosophical, the Vice President said “power to me is a humbling experience. It’s all about how we can make life better for the common man.”

He assured that President Tinubu is poised to catapult the country to a higher pedestal while also providing the needed leadership that would bring about the desired development.

“He is determined; he has the skills set; he has the temperament; the disposition and the purity of mind and commitment to give service to this nation.”

On the controversy trailing the government’s position concerning the issue of fuel subsidy removal, the Vice President retorted that “the president has already made pronouncements yesterday (Monday) on the issue of the fuel subsidy. The truth of the matter is that it is either we get rid of subsidy or the fuel subsidy gets rid of the Nigerian nation.

“In 2022, we spent $10billion subsidizing the ostentatious lifestyle of the upper class of the society because you and I benefit 90% from the oil subsidy. The poor 40% of Nigerians benefit very little. And we know the consequences of unveiling a masquerade. We will get fierce opposition from those benefitting from the oil subsidy scam.

“But where there is a will, there is a way. Be rest assured that our president is a man of strong will and conviction. In the fullness of time you will appreciate his noble intentions for the nation. The issue of fuel subsidy will be frontally addressed. The earlier we do so, the better.”

On the issue of multiple exchange rates, he maintained that the government was determined to collapse it into one.

“We are going to collapse it into one. So these are two big elephants in the room and as the days go by we will be unveiling our agenda. He is going to unveil his agenda because as I have always said there can never be two captains in a ship.

“He is the president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. I’m the vice president. Your relevance is directly proportional to the level of your loyalty to the president.

“This is a gentleman that I have known for well over a decade; that I have interacted closely with. Be rest assured that we are going to work harmoniously as a team, as a family for the greater good of our nation.”