Later on this morning, President Tinubu will deliver a nationwide address on the ongoing protests. Here are 10 things I look forward to hearing in his speech

Ayo Akinfe

[1] We will introduce a raft of anti-inflationary measures to combat the cost of living crisis. I assure you all that as from January 2025, this government will ensure inflation is kept to single digits

[2] Given that about a third of Nigeria’s food produce goes to waste, we will be investing $2bn in rural roads, on-farm storage and refrigerated transport over the next two years

[3] A new law will be passed mandating every single one of our 774 local government areas to have at least one warehouse where emergency food stocks are stored. Local governments will be free to distribute these whenever the need arises

[4] Given that a lot of our current problems stem from high fuel prices, we will expedite action on getting the Warri, Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries up and running. With increased supply, prices should reduce significantly

[5] This government is also stepping up work in the Niger Delta to ensure all oil pipelines are fixed. If we can bring daily output back to our historic level of 2.5m barrels a day, it should reduce prices and subsequently petrol and diesel costs

[6] Security remains a major obstacle to economic growth. To combat this, we shall set up a national emergency committee to explore the principle of establishing local police forces

[7] We realise that over the long term, only economic diversification and growth can safeguard us against poverty. As a result, we shall initiate plans to dismantle the federal allocation formula and get our 36 states to start contributing to the treasury

[8] Inadequate power supply is another major debilitating factor hampering economic growth. As a result, we shall build a 10,000MW hydo-electric power plant at the confluence of the rivers Niger and Benue in Lokoja. We will also build a 800km windmill farm stretching from Badagry to Calabar with plans to generate an extra 10,000MW from this

[9] Job creation is the ultimate antidote to poverty. Consequently, my government will be entering into negotiations with Nissan, Renault, BMW, Mercedes, Honda, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Volvo to get them to open electric car assembly plants in Nigeria

[10] Industrialisation is impossible without steel, so my government will be entering into manufacturing agreements with international partners to take over the running of Ajaokuta and Aladja steel mills. By 2023, we want to see the two plants producing 30m tonnes of steel and by 2030, we aim to match Germany’s 42m tonnes

Ayoakinfe@gmail.com