NIGERIA’S President Bola Tinubu announced new economic measures on Monday to ease growing hardship in Africa’s most populous country.

The move by the president came as trade unions threatened protests to demand more action.

Several government policies introduced by President Tinubu since he took office in May have further squeezed millions of Nigerians. 

The government ended decades-long petrol subsidies that Mr Tinubu said favoured the rich, but the decision has more than doubled the price of gas, causing a sharp spike in prices of food and other essential commodities.

In a state broadcast late on Monday, the Nigerian leader said he understands that Nigeria’s economy is going through a “tough patch” but added the government has saved more than 1 trillion naira (£1.28 billion) since the subsidy was scrapped in late May. 

Past funds for the subsidies were “being funnelled into the deep pockets and lavish bank accounts of a selected group of individuals,” he said.

“What I can offer immediately is to reduce the burden our current economic situation has imposed on all of us,” the Nigerian leader said as he announced incentives and credit facilities for businesses, many of which would be implemented over the next year.

Some of the interventions include the provision of 1 billion naira (£1.27 million) credit to each of the 75 manufacturing companies over the next year and the provision of 125 billion naira ($128.4mi) in the form of grants and loans to small, medium-sized enterprises and other businesses in the informal sector.

The Nigerian leader said that he has ordered the release of 200,000 metric tons of grain to households across the country to help stabilise the price of food while 225,000 metric tons of fertiliser, seedlings and other inputs are being provided to farmers. 

President Tinubu also said the government is continuing to negotiate a new salary structure with civil servants.