Bola Tinubu, National Leader of
the All Progressives Congress, APC, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari
for signing the Deep Offshore Act in London.
Tinubu also commended the
president’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari for traveling to London to present the
bill to Buhari for assent.
Kyari
presented the amended Deep Offshore Act to Buhari in London on Monday. Kyari.
However, Tinubu said the signing
of the bill was a pointer to the fact that Buhari was determined to reform the
country’s economy.
A statement he signed titled “The
Coming Prosperity,” reads: “WITH the action by the National Assembly to improve
the outdated Deep Offshore Act through legislative amendment, Nigeria has turned
an important corner. As stated in his insightful, forward-looking commentary
published in ThisDay…Presidential Chief of Staff Abba Kyari rightfully asserted
the financial provisions of the old law had outlived their stated purpose.
Continuation with this outmoded financial regime enriched the oil companies
while depriving Nigeria of a fair bargain.
“Billions of dollars that should
have landed in our national coffers to fund public infrastructure and essential
social services instead found residence in the balance sheets of the oil firms.
“This was no attempt to deprive
the oil majors. We want the firms to make a just profit for their efforts;
however, they have been receiving a surplus at the expense of our minimal
developmental needs. This is not as things should be.
“The companies are Nigeria’s
long-term business partners and we have no interest in denigrating them; all we
seek is a fair, equitable relationship. The new amendments provide this.
“The amendments demonstrate the
important progress to be made when the National Assembly and the Presidency
work in harmony for the collective good. Efforts by past governments to amend
the law got bogged in failure due to the intervention of special interests.
“This time, finally, the national
interests were considered weightier than the special interests of a few.
President Buhari and the National Assembly leadership should be commended for
this singular achievement.
“Chief of Staff Kyari titled his
commentary “Toward a New Deal for Nigeria.” This is appropriate and more than
symbolic. The title recalls a challenging time in the history of the United
States. That nation was in the throes of economic contraction.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu
“The people would vote to remove
the austere, insensitive party that had governed the nation for over a decade
simply by catering to the wealthy. The people voted for a compassionate,
progressive government headed by a committed principled leader to steer the
nation out of danger. No two historical situations are identical. But, there
are important similarities between our circumstance and the challenges America
faced during that period.
“Faced with steep economic
challenges, the administration of Franklin Roosevelt dedicated itself to
reforming the economy in order to bring prosperity to a hurt and struggling
population.
“In so doing, he would reform, at
times reinvent, the nation’s economic institutions and laws. This would change
the relationship between the average citizen and the American government for
the better. This was the essence of the New Deal.
“Such beneficial reform is what
the Buhari government seeks but in a more complex and challenging environment.
The American challenge was exclusively economic. The Nigerian challenge is
multi-faceted.
“President Buhari first had to
tackle insecurity and the terrorism of Boko Haram. He then had to throttle
corruption in official circles so that government could be responsive to the
people’s needs instead of serving those who enriched themselves from government
coffers.
“He had to grapple and make
headway with these fundamental problems before shifting primary focus on
economic reform. As the title of Chief of Staff Kyari’s composition indicate,
we now move toward a New Deal for Nigeria.
“President Buhari is intent on
reforming the economy that it may answer the needs of the majority of our
people. Establishing the Economic Council of Advisers (EAC) was an innovative,
bold step, assembling our nation’s top economic minds to shape economic
programmes and policy. Along with his ministers and other officials, the EAC
will offer the president their best professional advice on how to improve all
aspects of the economy and government’s role in it.
“The amended Deep Offshore Act is
not an isolated, solitary act. It is a harbinger.Just as the amended Act brings
to the oil sector overdue reform that will benefit national development, the
Buhari administration will take a critical look at all major segments of the
economy.
“It will do so with an eye to
reforming what needs to be reformed and improving what needs to be improved.
Just as the oil sector has been made better, all other sectors of the economy
will be strengthened.
“The end result will be an
economy transformed into one that provides hope, opportunity and meaningful
livelihoods for all.
“Indeed, we move toward a New
Deal for Nigeria.”
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