"I wish today's difficulties did not exist. But we must endure if we are to reach the good side of our future."
President Bola Tinubu has urged Nigerians to continue to endure the hardship caused by the removal of subsidies on petrol.
In a broadcast to mark Nigeria's 63rd Independence Anniversary, Mr Tinubu said the hardship is an aftermath of the essential removal of subsidy on petrol.
"I am attuned to the hardships that have come. I have a heart that feels and eyes that see. I wish to explain to you why we must endure this trying moment," he said.
He added: "Reform may be painful, but it is what greatness and the future require.
"I wish today's difficulties did not exist. But we must endure if we are to reach the good side of our future."
Mr Tinubu announced the removal of subsidy on petrol in his speech at his inauguration on 29 May.
Since then, the price of petrol has tripled across major cities from less than N200 per litre to about N600 per litre. This has also led to a huge increase in the costs of goods and services, further worsening the economic situation for millions of citizens.
Amidst the spiralling effect of the subsidy removal, in August, members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) staged a protest across major states/cities in the country to register their concerns.
The workers in Abuja also occupied the complex of the Nigerian National Assembly to protest against the hardship inflicted on Nigerians as a result of the removal of the petrol subsidy.
They have threatened to embark on another round of strikes from Tuesday.
Ongoing reforms
In his speech on Sunday, Mr Tinubu emphasised that those who sought to perpetuate the fuel subsidy and broken foreign exchange policies are people who would build their family mansion in the middle of a swamp.
He said he "is not a man to erect our national home on a foundation of mud."
To endure lingering hardship in the country, Mr Tinubu said, "Our home must be constructed on safe and pleasant ground."
The president explained that his administration is doing all that it can to ease the existing hardship in the country.
"We have embarked on several public sector reforms to stabilise the economy, direct fiscal and monetary policy to fight inflation, encourage production, ensure the security of lives and property and lend more support to the poor and the vulnerable," he said.
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To ensure better grassroots development, the president said his government set up an Infrastructure Support Fund for states to invest in critical areas and that states have already received funds to provide relief packages against the impact of rising food and other prices.
Lowering transportation costs
Mr Tinubu said his government would make the economy more robust by lowering transportation costs through the adoption of sustainable fuel.
He said the government has opened a new chapter in public transportation through the deployment of cheaper, safer Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses across the nation.
These buses, he said, will operate at a fraction of current fuel prices, positively affecting transport fares.
"New CNG conversion kits will start coming in very soon as all hands are on deck to fast track the usually lengthy procurement process," the president said.
Mr Tinubu explained that the government is also setting up training facilities and workshops across the nation to train and provide new opportunities for transport operators and entrepreneurs.
"This is a groundbreaking moment where, as a nation, we embrace more efficient means to power our economy. In making this change, we also make history," he said.
