Fuel Subsidy removal: Tinubu aware of hardship in Nigeria – Okonjo Iweala

On Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu met with World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at the presidential palace in Abuja. During their conversation, Okonjo-Iweala said that Tinubu is aware of the difficulties that the Nigerian people are facing.

However, Okonjo-Iweala explained that her visit to Tinubu was not in her role as the WTO helmsman, and that she was escorted to the Villa by former Minister of State for Health and minister-designate, Dr. Mohammed Pate.

The former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy told reporters that the main purpose of the meeting was to discuss ways to benefit the people of Nigeria.

Helping Nigerians get out of their dire straits is a top priority right now.

She revealed that their discussion with the president focussed on strategies to increase female participation in the workforce, promote digital trade in the Nigerian economy, and create more jobs.

“This was not really an official WTO mission, but we were able to engage with Mr. President to talk about what are the kinds of programmes that could be put in place to make sure that Nigerians are okay,” she said. To alleviate the plight of the country’s most vulnerable citizens—women and children—we discussed potential community and grassroots activities that could provide employment opportunities for young people.

She said they were able to discuss long-term investment opportunities in the pharmaceutical business and other areas during their tour.

We discussed the help that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) can provide.

To increase their export sales, “we are already working in Nigeria with women in particular who own small and medium firms to attempt to help them upgrade the quality of their products, whether in the agricultural domain, textiles, and other areas.

Our goal is to facilitate digital commerce between both parties. Digital commerce is the way of the future. How can we increase job creation in Nigeria by investing in the education and empowerment of women and small and medium businesses across the country?

That’s exactly what the people of Nigeria need right now to help them through this rough patch. This is what we discussed with Mr. President, and in my capacity as Director General of the World Trade Organisation, I intend to do everything in my power to aid the Nigerian people in their time of need.

WTO Director General’s comments were echoed by Pate, a former CEO of GAVI, the global vaccine alliance, who said that Tinubu is working hard to alleviate the suffering of the citizens.

He said the current trouble is temporary and that the president will take any and all intervention steps necessary to help the people.

Pate discussed plans to prioritise health, in particular health insurance, primary healthcare, and hospital care, as well as grassroots programming to empower women and youth.