Nigeria’s new President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has assured investors and the business community of his administration’s commitment to addressing complaints of multiple taxation imposed on them by governments at various levels.
President Tinubu gave the assurance yesterday while delivering his inaugural speech in Abuja.
“I have a message for our investors, local and foreign: our government shall review all their complaints about multiple taxation and various anti-investment inhibitions. We shall ensure that investors and foreign businesses repatriate their hard earned dividends and profits home,” he said.
The President said his administration aims to expand the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by “not less than 6 per cent”, which is twice the growth rate projected for Nigeria by the World Bank and International Monetary Funds (IMF).
Tinubu said the 6 per cent projected growth will be achieved through budgetary reforms to stimulate the economy without engendering inflation.
“Industrial policy will utilise the full range of fiscal measures to promote domestic manufacturing and lessen import dependency,” he said.
While announcing the removal of fuel subsidy, he said, “We commend the decision of the outgoing administration in phasing out the petrol subsidy regime which has increasingly favoured the rich more than the poor. Subsidy can no longer justify its ever-increasing costs in the wake of drying resources. We shall instead re-channel the funds into better investment in public infrastructure, education, health care and jobs that will materially improve the lives of millions.”
He said his mission is to improve the lives of Nigerians “in a manner that nurtures our humanity, encourages compassion toward one another, and duly rewards our collective effort to resolve the social ills that seek to divide us.”
“Our constitution and laws give us a nation on paper. We must work harder at bringing these noble documents to life by strengthening the bonds of economic collaboration, social cohesion, and cultural understanding. Let us develop a shared sense of fairness and equity.
The South must not only seek good for itself but must understand that its interests are served when good comes to the North. The North must see the South likewise. Whether from the winding creeks of the Niger Delta, the vastness of the northern savannah, the boardrooms of Lagos, the bustling capital of Abuja, or the busy markets of Onitsha, you are all my people. As your president, I shall serve with prejudice toward none but compassion and amity towards all,” he said.
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