Vice President Kashim Shettima says instead of governing Nigeria from a distance, the administration of President Bola Tinubu is walking hand in hand with the people through critical national reforms.
The Vice President stated this on Tuesday at a 2-day interactive session on Government-Citizens Engagement, organised by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation.
He said the Nigerian leader has demonstrated time and again that his administration is “neither crafting policy in solitude nor assuming that technocracy alone delivers results.”
He reaffirmed the commitment of the administration to inclusive governance and responsive policymaking rooted in wide-ranging public engagement and empathy.
Represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Hassan-Hadejia, the Vice President declared that the Tinubu administration is convening conversations and institutionalising listening.
“It is always a privilege to gather under the luminous legacy of Sir Ahmadu Bello, his memory reminds us that leadership is not simply about occupying office, but about shouldering the burden of service. What we nurture today is not just a government of the people but a government with the people,” he said.
VP Shettima highlighted several reforms of the administration where public input significantly shaped outcomes, including tax policy, education access, and economic relief measures following the removal of fuel subsidies.
Students Loan
On the students’ loan law which was initially passed as the Access to Higher Education Act, the VP said in response, the administration repealed and reenacted the law, “removing income ceilings and guarantor barriers that had become symbolic walls between ambition and opportunity.”
Vice President Shettima reiterated the government’s belief that “no student should be disqualified for being born on the wrong side of poverty.”
Tax Reforms
On tax reforms, Senator Shettima said the administration established a Presidential Tax and Fiscal Reform Committee, which engaged stakeholders from across the country to address grey areas in the reforms.
“When objections arose from governors and citizens alike, the President did not dismiss them. He welcomed their candour and ensured tax bills passed through public hearings. Even unpopular taxes inherited from past regimes, like the 10% single-use plastic levy and telecom tax, were suspended after critical review,” he stated.
The VP also spoke about the contentious issue of fuel subsidy removal, saying the Tinubu-led federal government acknowledged the hardship faced by ordinary Nigerians and accompanied the policy with strategic responses.
He continued: “We met with labour unions not with threats, but with empathy. We offered palliative packages, increased wages, waived diesel taxes, and introduced alternatives like CNG buses to cushion transport costs. We were not merely reacting. We were responding.”
The Vice President said the reforms in other sectors of the economy followed the same pattern of engaging with the people and making necessary adjustments to the original propositions where necessary.
He further noted that every step of the way, President Tinubu showed concern for the people and emphasised the point that “governance is not a theatre of perfection but a process of correction and a government that listens and learns. And a government that learns is a government that leads.”
He applauded the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation for sustaining the legacy of the late Premier of Northern Nigeria, describing it as “a torch of civic dialogue that must never be extinguished.”