Vice President Kashim Shettima has said that there forces hell-bent on plunging the country into a state of anarchy.
According to him, those who could not get to power through the ballot box, but instead of waiting till 2027, are so desperate.
Speaking on Tuesday at a conference on Public Wealth Management in Abuja, Shettima said some politicians and smugglers were working to undermine the government’s efforts to revamp the nation’s economy.
Shettima disclosed that 45 trucks loaded with maize were intercepted while making their way to neighbouring countries at midnight on Sunday.
“Just three nights ago, 45 trucks of maize were caught being transported to neighbouring countries.
“Just in that Ilela axis (Sokoto state), there are 32 illegal smuggling routes. The moment those foodstuffs were intercepted, the price of maize came down by N10,000. It came down from N60,000 to N50,000,” he said.
Shettima declared that, “There are forces that are hell-bent on undermining our nation, but this is the time for us to coalesce into a singular entity.
“We have to make this country work. We have to move beyond politics. We are now in the face of governance.
“Sadly, some of our countrymen are still in the political mode. They are the practitioners of violence, advocating that Nigeria should go the Lebanon way.
“But, Nigeria is greater than anyone of us here. Nigeria will weather the storm.
“Forces are hell-bent on plunging this country into a state of anarchy. Those who could not get to power through the ballot box, instead for them to wait till 2027, are so desperate.”
Shettima, however, admitted that Nigerians were passing through challenges and appeal for patience, assuring that the challenges will be addressed.
In his address at the occasion, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, disclosed that the Federal Government would audit the N23 trillion Ways and Means.
He explained that “Ways and Means is the expression for money borrowed by the federal government from the Central Bank of Nigeria” (CBN).
The minister said the decision to audit the federal government debt to the CBN was to ensure that the federal government was not made to pay for funds it did not spend.
Edun added that the government was working hard to make the Nigerian business space more attractive to investors by eliminating all unnecessary taxes.
