Vice President Kashim Shettima has visited President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Lagos following his return from the United States, where he represented the President at the 2026 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Shettima’s visit was disclosed on Saturday by Dada Olusegun, Special Assistant to the President on Social Media.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, the Vice President said he had remained in regular contact with Tinubu throughout the President’s trip abroad and kept him updated on developments across the country.
Shettima said advances in technology had also enabled the President to monitor events in Nigeria despite being outside the country.
“We are quite thrilled that he is back on the seat and we have been in regular contact throughout his sojourn abroad.
“So we have been in regular contact, we speak almost every other day and we are updating him on developments in the nation and we are happy he is back on the seat,” he said.
The Vice President also used the opportunity to defend some of the major economic reforms introduced by the Tinubu administration, particularly the removal of petrol subsidy and the harmonisation of the country’s foreign exchange market.
According to Shettima, the administration inherited extremely low foreign reserves and had to take difficult decisions to stabilise the economy.
“When we assumed the mantle of leadership, our foreign reserves was a staggeringly low $3.9bn that was not enough to import fuel for one month,” he said.
He argued that Tinubu demonstrated the political courage required to implement reforms that previous administrations had avoided.
“He had the courage and the conviction to take far-reaching decisions,” Shettima said, referring to the petrol subsidy removal and foreign exchange reforms.
The Vice President further claimed that the reforms had helped to safeguard the Nigerian economy, while acknowledging the hardship being experienced by citizens.
“He saved the economy. I want Nigerians to understand this fundamental truism,” he said.
Shettima appealed to Nigerians to remain patient, insisting that the current economic difficulties would not persist indefinitely.
“We appreciate the pains Nigerians are going through, but tough times do not last forever; tough people do,” he added.
He disclosed that the Federal Government was working on a number of interventions aimed at reducing the economic burden on Nigerians.
Among them, according to the Vice President, is an e-logistics initiative in the North-East involving 10,600 electric tricycles, 300 buses and e-taxis.
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He added that the government was also developing programmes targeted at students and other vulnerable members of society.
“Be rest assured that we’ll come up with programmes and projects to ease the pains of the people,” Shettima assured.
On the 2027 general elections, Shettima acknowledged that political activities were already intensifying but said the administration would continue to balance political engagements with its responsibility of governing the country.
“Politics is in the air, but we’ll combine politics and governance,” he stated.