President Bola Tinubu’s 15 impactful initiatives in his first 18 months in office in Nigeria have become evidence of his readiness for the task ahead.
In a statement signed by its Chairman Emeka Nwankpa and Secretary Dapo Okubanjo, the Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) insisted that what the administration has done in its first few months showed that President Tinubu came fully prepared with a plan.
The statement read in part, “From our vantage position, we have been able to identify no fewer than 15 federal government initiatives introduced by the President Bola Tinubu administration in its first 18 months in office.
“Many of the initiatives are not by happenstance or adhoc in nature and execution. They are mostly products of proper planning and were clearly spelt out in the President’s 80-page campaign document tagged ‘Renewed Hope 2023-Action plan for a better Nigeria’, which contained multi-sectoral policy options. This is contrary to the position being canvassed by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the public space.
“Now 18 months into President Tinubu’s four-year term in office, we have seen at least 15 of those federal government initiatives which are tied to the administration’s major priorities of national security, economy and education.
“One of the flagship initiatives of the Tinubu administration is the ground- breaking student loan scheme which was formally launched in July 2024 to improve access to higher education as well as reduce the financial burden of indigent students.
“We are pleased to note that barely 3 months after the Nigerian Education Loans Fund (NELFUND) portal was opened, 351,317 students registered with 258,943 applying for loans. At the last count, N84.2billion has been disbursed- N27.5billion went to the schools and N56.7 billion for student upkeep.
“There are already indications that NELFUND has began working on creating a job portal with a view to linking loan beneficiaries with employment opportunities in order to boost their capacity to begin to pay back the loans 2 years after graduation.
“There is also the N100bn Consumer Credit Scheme managed by the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CreditCorp) which within 5 days of its launch disbursed N3.5biliion to 10,942 beneficiaries through participating financial institutions.
“Other initiatives introduced by the Tinubu administration are the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) initiative which although is still in a fledgling state is gradually being embraced as a cheaper,safer and cleaner alternative as well as micro and small business loan schemes to grow local businesses.
“There is the 3 million Technical Talent (3MTT) being spearheaded by the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy and targeted at building a new generation of Nigerian experts in the digital space. Also ongoing on the watch of this administration is the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) project for which the federal government has recently committed $618 million to strengthen Nigeria’s creative industry.
“And not to forget the infusion of skills into the curriculum of basic education from the next academic session. This is expected to expose pupils in the first 9 years of schooling to an array of skills from which they can choose one and build capacity in while still focusing on their education.
“We also know that the President Tinubu administration has not left the youth behind especially as it has the National Youth Academy (NIYA) in place which has a goal of empowering and training 7 Million to youth within the next 2 years as well as generate 5 million jobs within the next 4 years.
“This is aside from the N110 billion National Youth Investment Fund (NYIF), a financial support initiative of the Ministry of Youth Development designed to provide financial assistance through loans, grants, and equity investments, along with non-financial support like mentorship and business development services. In addition,there is an NDDC Internship Scheme for Niger Delta youth.
“All these are products of clear thinking. They are initiatives that have moved from the drawing board and have become reality with beneficiaries that are identifiable across the country.
“This is far different from the administration the former Vice President was part of which inspite of an oil boom prioritized the distribution of commercial tricycles as a poverty alleviation scheme rather than actual skill acquisition.”
TMSG urged Nigerians to see Atiku’s vituperations as a reflection of the bitterness of multiple election losses.