President Bola Tinubu has said that Nigeria has made significant progress since its independence, affirming that Nigerians today have better access to healthcare than in 1960.
Delivering his national broadcast to mark the country’s 65th Independence anniversary, the President maintained that despite prevailing challenges, the country had witnessed steady growth across critical sectors, including healthcare.
He said, “Although it is much easier for those whose vocation is to focus solely on what ought to be, we must recognise and celebrate our significant progress. Nigerians today have access to better education and healthcare than in 1960.”
Tinubu added, “We have experienced a significant surge in growth across every sector of our national life since Independence – in healthcare, infrastructure, financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications, information technology, aviation and defence, among others.”
According to him, funds from the removal of fuel subsidies have been redirected to the health and other critical sectors.
“Our administration has redirected the economy towards a more inclusive path, channelling money to fund education, healthcare, national security, agriculture, and critical economic infrastructure,” he said.
He further called for the construction of hospitals to provide care for the masses.
“We must build the roads we need, repair the ones that have become decrepit, and construct the schools our children will attend and the hospitals that will care for our people,” Tinubu said.
The President further cited ongoing disbursements under social investment programmes, which include support for vulnerable households.
He said, “Under the social investment programme to support poor households and vulnerable Nigerians, N330 billion has been disbursed to eight million households, many of whom have received either one or two out of the three tranches of N25,000 each.”
Tinubu urged Nigerians to invest in farming and patronise locally made goods.
“Let us be a nation of producers, not just consumers. Let us farm our land and build factories to process our produce. Let us patronise ‘Made-in-Nigeria’ goods. I say Nigeria first. Let us pay our taxes,” the president said.
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