Tinubu committed to fixing Nigeria’s problems, says Shettima

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The Vice President of Nigeria, Kashim Shettima has urged citizens across the country to remain clam despite the prevailing challenges, assuring that the President Bola Tinubu’s led-administration is determined to fix the nation’s challenges.

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Shettima stated this on Wednesday in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital during the opening ceremony of the Nasarawa Investment Summit 2026, slated for May 6 to May 7.

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He explained that as of the time Tinubu took over power in 2023, the nation was plunged into dept servicing which was a huge burden on the nation.

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The Vice President, however, stated that following the various economic reforms of the current administration, the country has been able to record successes in all sectors of the nation’s economy, noting that as a result, state governors across the country now embark on infrastructural projects without having to borrow funds.

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He said, “When this administration came into office in 2023, Nigeria was at the edge of a fiscal trap. But President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a man of honour. Instead of blaming the previous administration, he took the bold decision to work for the nation.

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“As I said, Nigeria was at the edge of a fiscal trap. Debt service had consumed about 96% of revenue. The old order had rewarded arbitrage modern production. Oil subsidies and exchange rate distortion had become feeding bottles for privileged intermediaries, while the public treasury was top of the revenue required to build roads, fund schools, support states, and protect the vulnerable.”

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According to him, Tinubu’s administration is currently laying the foundation for an economy that rewards production, protects enterprise, and gives states the room to become engines of growth.

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He, therefore, appealed to the citizens irrespective of religious, tribal or political backgrounds to give the administration the needed support to succeed.

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Speaking on the Nasarawa Investment Summit 2026 tagged “Bold Transitions, Building a Legacy for a Sustainable Future,” Shettima commended Governor Abdullahi Sule for priotising investments for the state, noting that through the numerous investments attracted within the past seven years, Nasarawa State has now become an investment destination for many.

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He said, “Over the past seven years, Nasarawa has pursued development with a calm conviction of a state that knows where it is going. A government such as this is a meeting point of ideas and capital.

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“Governor Abdullahi Sule is a good man. I am absolutely certain that the people of Nasarawa State will miss him. I have no doubt that Nasarawa is an answer to every investment dilemma. It has land, it has minerals, it has proximity, it has agriculture, it has energy prospects, and most importantly, it has a government that understands the consequences of energy.”

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According to him, the greatest gift any leader can leave is the certainty that progress will survive after him.

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The VP therefore urged governor Sule to work towards ensuring that his successor in 2027 continues the good works he has been doing in the state.

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On his part, Governor Abdullahi Sule said the 2026 summit marks the final investment forum under his administration and represents a defining moment for the state’s economic trajectory.

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He described it as “a strategic platform to consolidate on the existing gains and chart a pathway for the next phase of economic transformation.”

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Sule recalled that the 2022 ‘Diamond in the Rough’ edition introduced Nasarawa’s natural resources and proximity to Abuja to investors, while the 2024 ‘Industrial Renaissance’ shifted focus to agriculture, mining, manufacturing and infrastructure.

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The current edition, he said, is designed to protect and embed reforms in durable institutions so that progress endures beyond individual administrations.

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“A key concern is that political transitions can create uncertainty for investors, particularly when reforms are tied to specific leaders rather than embedded in institutional frameworks. “Maintaining investor confidence requires clear signals that policy, regulatory systems and contractual commitments will remain stable and predictable,” Sule said.

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Our correspondent reports that a highlight of the summit was the launch of the “Lafia Declaration”, a voluntary commitment by political parties, the legislature, judiciary, development partners and investors to sustain Nasarawa’s economic reform trajectory beyond 2027.

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The Governor said the declaration assures investors that their commitments will remain safe regardless of who succeeds him.

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“Investors want a situation where even without A.A. Sule, they can be confident that their investment is safe, that there will be continuity. To reinforce that assurance, the state invited gubernatorial aspirants across party lines, traditional institutions, youth, women and disability groups to endorse the commitment,” he explained.

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Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment Jumoke Oduwale said Nasarawa had become a model for how sustained reform translates into investment activity, urging the state to sustain its commitment in attracting investments, as a way to guarantee its rapid growth and development.

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Earlier in his welcome remark, the Managing Director of the Nasarawa State Investment and Development Agency, Ibrahim Abdullahi said reforms under the agency’s Business Enabling Reform Action Plan had delivered more than 50 business environment improvements, including harmonised taxes, digitised regulatory processes, a robust PPP law and the new State Electricity Commission.

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The reforms, he said, had grown the state’s Internally Generated Revenue from ₦7 billion in 2019 to ₦37 billion in 2025 and ranked Nasarawa among Nigeria’s top 10 most competitive states for business.

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Our correspondent further reports that the summit’s Deal Room is showcasing eight investment-ready projects, including the Gudi Agro-Industrial Hub, Technology Hub at the Technology Village, small hydro-power projects at Farin Ruwa and Doma Dam, gold and lithium processing facilities, the ₦100 billion Infrastructure Fund, the Embedded Power Network, and the Akwanga-Panda-Yanyanya Toll Road.

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The two-day summit, themed “Bold Transitions, Building a Legacy for a Sustainable Future,” is the third edition since the initiative began in 2022.

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It comes as the Nasarawa Investment Development Agency, NASIDA, reported over $2 billion in investment inflows and the creation of more than 50,000 jobs in the past seven years.

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