Vice President Kashim Shettima has expressed optimism that the Tinubu administration will redefine the meaning and concept of modern governance.
He stated this on his first day in office Tuesday.
The vice president promised his total support for his principal while urging Nigerians to rally around the administration to attain a dream country.
“To paraphrase the late John F. Kennedy, to some generations much is given; to other generations, much is expected. I believe this generation has a rendezvous with destiny and my principal, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is poised to redefine the meaning and concept of modern governance,” he said.
“I want to assure Nigerians that he is going to provide the lead. He is going to provide the leadership and we will rally around him, give him our unequivocal 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.
“Power to me is a humbling experience. It’s all about how we can make life better for the common man. So, I want to assure our countrymen that President Bola Tinubu will by the grace of God catapult this nation to a higher pedestal. 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.”
Commenting on fuel subsidy removal, the vice president said the government expects fierce opposition to the move and is ready to address it frontally.
He equally promised to work with the president to address multiple taxation and exchange rates.
“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,” the vice president said.
“In 2022, we spent $10 billion subsidizing the ostentatious lifestyle of the upper class of society because you and I benefit 90 percent from the oil subsidy. The poor 40 percent 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.
“The issue of multiple exchange rates, 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. Be rest assured that we are going to work harmoniously as a team, as a family for the greater good of our nation,” he added.
Vice President Shettima commiserated with the family of the founder of Daar Communications, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi, who died at the age of 71 on Monday.
“He was my very friend. We constructed and donated an office for you when I was the governor. He was there for two days during the commissioning of the complex,” he said of the media mogul.
