Ṣé ìwọ yóò fi ààyè iwájú fún àwọn iṣẹ́ àkànṣe tuntun tàbí kí o kọ́kọ́ parí àwọn tí a ti kọ̀sílẹ̀?

Q15: Many rural communities are far from the national grid. What role will solar, mini-grids and other alternative energy sources play in providing them with electricity? Answer: I would make solar mini-grids that will serve as the primary power source for off-grid communities, supported by zero import tariffs on solar components and capital subsidies for renewable energy providers. Q16: Nigeria has invested in many power projects but electricity remains unreliable. What will you do differently, and how will you ensure abandoned or delayed electricity projects are completed? Answer: My administration will audit all stalled power projects, convert viable uncompleted assets into public-private concessions, and enforce strict anti-corruption oversight on all energy contracts. Q17: Bad rural roads prevent people from reaching farms, markets, schools and hospitals, especially during the rainy season. How will you improve rural roads and connectivity? Answer: I plan to expand the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP) using matching federal-state funds to pave critical farm-to-market feeder roads.

Q18: Transport fares are becoming unaffordable, while people in cities such as Lagos spend hours in traffic. What will you do to improve public transportation and reduce transport costs? Answer: My plan is to accelerate urban mass transit rail lines, expand Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems, develop inland waterway passenger ferries, and lower transport operational costs by subsidizing local fuel refining inputs. Q19: Communities are repeatedly promised roads and other infrastructure, but projects are abandoned or deteriorate shortly after construction. How will you improve project completion, quality and accountability? Answer: A $25 billion private-sector-led Infrastructure Development Fund will be created, enforcing mandatory third-party engineering audits and releasing funds based on verified milestones to stop project abandonment. Q20: How will you ensure that infrastructure investment reaches rural communities and is distributed fairly across Nigeria rather than concentrated in major cities? Answer: I will make sure the budget allocation model will use population and agricultural productivity benchmarks-rather than urban density alone-to guarantee equitable infrastructure funding across every geopolitical zone.

It is with great adulation to God and a heart full of gratitude that I join other patriots to welcome Nigerians to the New Year 2024. The past year was definitely a challenging year, but the lessons that we took away from it are what should prepare us for the future that the New Year holds. It is my belief that one of the reasons the Almighty created time and season is for us to take stock of our realities and effect necessary amends. Certainly, many families and businesses already know the intensity of the trying times that we are currently going through - though we could have taken a completely different pathway, had the government been smarter with their policy prescriptions. The rising cost of food items, goods and services, the malfunction in our national economy and the degenerating state of our national and community security are all existential challenges that we have to face squarely in the New Year.

The review must prioritise fiscal measures to deal with an unprecedented rise in commodity prices. Higher commodity prices have created more misery for the poor in our towns and villages and have pushed millions of people below the poverty line. One of such measures for immediate implementation will be to ease the existing restrictions on selected food imports. Third, undertake a comprehensive review of the Social Investment Programme (SIP) to mitigate some of the impact of these policies on the most vulnerable households. The SIP must go beyond Conditional Cash Transfers to include programmes that prioritize support to MSEs across all the economic sectors, as they offer the greatest opportunities for achieving inclusive growth. In addition, a holistic programme to support medium and large-scale enterprises to navigate the stormy seas in the aftermath of the withdrawal of subsidy on PMS is also needed.

The latest push to “revive” these refineries was driven by political pressure, not economic sense. Politics must never substitute for sound, transformative policy. Accordingly, any proposed refinery deal, including with foreign partners, should be discontinued, as it merely repeats failed models. Nigeria would have been better served by selling the refineries pre-rehabilitation to avoid ballooning debt and the steady depreciation of what have effectively become liabilities. -AA

You speak of young Nigerians building unicorns. I see their talent wherever I go. I see young people learning new skills, making things and looking for a chance to serve their country. They first need work that pays enough to get them through the month. Ambition is abundant in Nigeria. What is scarce is the chance to turn it into a living. And please do not describe every new loan as an opportunity. A student loan does not make education affordable when fees are rising. Under your watch, some institutions have raised fees by more than 400 per cent, and your answer is to offer students loans to pay them. Consumer credit does not make a worker prosperous if repayment takes another bite out of a wage already too small to live on. Tell Nigerians what these programmes have delivered, who has benefited and what they must pay back. The confusion extends to your budgets. You have just signed an extension keeping the 2025 budget in operation until the last day of 2026. The 2026 budget exists alongside it. Soon, your government will ask Nigerians to examine a 2027 budget. How many budgets must be open at once before you can tell the country what was funded, what was completed and what remains unpaid? A budget should be a timetable for delivery, not a ball passed from one year to the next.