President Bola Tinubu has returned to Nigeria after attending the meeting of the G20 Leaders' Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where he endorsed the global alliance against hunger and poverty. The president, who returned late Saturday night, arrived at the Presidential Wing of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at 10.00 p.m. and was received by top presidency officials. On the sideline of activities at the G20 summit, President Tinubu held bilateral talks with Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), who commended his administration’s economic reforms and their positive indicators.
At the meeting, President Tinubu assured that his administration would continue prioritizing the welfare of the poor and most vulnerable even as the economic reforms bear fruit.
He also presided over the signing of a $2.5 billion Letter of Intent between the Nigerian government and JBS S.A., a Brazilian company and one of the top three largest meat processing companies globally.
While speaking about his ongoing economic reforms, Tinubu has acknowledged that the reforms had weakened Nigerians’ purchasing power but assured that his administration would continue to provide social safety nets to cushion the unintended consequences.
“We have started seeing positive results from our reforms, and the Nigerian people now understand the need for them, but we have to reduce the hardship that has resulted from the implementation.”
He also stressed his commitment to education, which he described as critical if the country must be free from poverty and hunger.
“We have too many children out of school and we know that education is a way out of hunger and poverty. That is why we are designing ways and incentives to keep these children in school, and we need your support for these kids who want to stay in school,”
President Tinubu said, stressing that substantial resources must be invested to stimulate the much-needed infrastructural development in the country.
Speaking on the ongoing tax reforms, Tinubu stated that the reforms would stimulate the economy further.“We are engaging stakeholders and sensitizing Nigerians to expand the economy’s tax base for inclusive developmental growth. We are doing this without necessarily increasing the taxes on our people who have already given a lot. We will require your support on this.”
In her remarks, the IMF managing director, Kristalina Geogieva who expressed a desire to visit Nigeria, commended the Tinubu administration’s economic reforms and their positive indicators.
She specifically lauded the social investment programs as a way of cushioning the effects on the most vulnerable and promised the assistance of the body in this regard.
Contrary to popular perception, she said that the IMF is focused on developing vulnerable societies and devoting substantial resources to emerging economies.
The managing director expressed the Fund’s readiness to offer technical support for the budgeting process, noting that it would assist Nigeria in achieving the best possible results from loans.
Georgieva said the world has suffered some shocks from the pandemic that caused damage to world economies. Over the last two years, the IMF has injected about $1 trillion into the world economy. While the developed countries managed the shocks better, the developing nations did not do so, she noted.
She said the IMF is working with developing countries to build resilient institutions to better manage future global economic shocks.
The IMF managing director informed President Tinubu that the organization’s Executive Board has approved the 3rd Chair for Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA), enhancing the African voice.
In the livestock sector, Tinubu said his administration’s renewed focus on driving international and local investments into the livestock sector of the agricultural value chain would end the crisis of farmer-herder clashes, eradicate hunger and poverty in Nigeria as well as promote economic prosperity.
The president, who witnessed the signing of a Letter of Intent between the Nigerian Government and JBS S.A, one of the top three largest meat processing companies globally, expressed his desire to harness Nigeria’s livestock potential for job creation and expand economic development
