The Federal Government has said that the fact that Nigeria accepted grains from Ukraine to combat hunger does not make Nigeria a weak or failed state.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this in Abuja at the LEADERSHIP Annual Conference and Awards 2023, with the theme; ‘An Economy in Distress: The Way Forward’ on Tuesday.
Idris was reacting to the comments by the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, who spoke at the event moment after being presented with the LEADERSHIP Politician of the Year 2023 Award.
Obi had criticised Nigerian government for accepting the donation of grains from Ukraine, a country currently at war, to combat hunger, describing the action as shameful.
But, Idris, who represented President Bola Tinubu at the occasion, earlier spoke as the government’s chief spokesman to reply Obi before reading the President’s speech.
“Egypt gets about 60 per cent of its grains from Ukraine. The fact that Egypt gets about 60 per cent of its grains from Ukraine does not make it a failed state.
“The fact that we are having challenges at the moment does not make Nigeria a failed state.
“Therefore, accepting grains from Ukraine does not make Nigeria or Egypt failed countries, it is a normal thing, because countries exist to depend on one another,” the Minister fired back.
Idris noted that it was true that Nigeria was facing some challenges and President Tinubu was aware of this and he does not shy away from it.
He stressed that Nigerians voted for Tinubu with the deeper understanding and conviction that he has the capacity to turn things around for the better and that is what he was doing.
He said some of the decisions he has taken were to ensure that Nigeria finds its rightful place among the comity of nations.
He highlighted that the decisions included removal of fuel subsidy and addressing the issue of foreign exchange and many others.
He, however, said in spite of the current challenges, the economic growth of Nigeria was on track and has continued to improve.
He emphasised that fuel subsidy removal was a bold step in the right direction and urged Nigerians to support the president as the country would soon begin to reap the benefits.
He noted that current national challenges did not begin upon the assumption of office by President Tinubu.
He stressed that going by figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s fuel importation reduced by 50 per cent after fuel subsidy removal, just as the economy improved significantly.
Idris noted also that President Tinubu had demonstrated capacity and, since his assumption of office, had attracted more than $30 billion in foreign investments into the country.
“He has not stopped at that. Just last week, President Tinubu went to Qatar to attract more businesses and investments into Nigeria.
“We are optimistic that soon, what we are passing through will be a thing of the past and Nigeria will be better,’’ the Minister declared.
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