By Johnbosco Agbakwuru, Abuja

President Bola Tinubu has assured Nigerians on Friday that his administration will keep working to alleviate economic hardships fueled by the Middle East crisis.

Speaking at a civic reception in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, after commissioning state projects, Tinubu acknowledged the challenges faced by the citizenry.

He said his government is coordinating with the Ministry of Finance to find relief.

“Yes, I hear you from various angles of the economy. The fuel prices are biting hard. But look around. Let’s just thank God together that we are better off listening to what is happening in Kenya and other African countries. What they are going through.”

The president added, “We will continue to find ways to ameliorate the suffering of the vulnerable. This is a government that cares. We will look at the numbers with the Ministry of Finance, Budget, and Economic Planning. And we will see what we can do to ease the burden. But that is the development.”

He stressed that Nigerians are facing the burden of the war. “These are the challenges of the war we didn’t call for. But the effects of the interrelated world that we share. And both the joy and the pain of it are universal.”

Tinubu inaugurated the 60-megawatt gas-fired Independent Power Plant (IPP) in Elebele, Ogbia Local Government Area.

The facility, built under Governor Douye Diri’s administration, aims to cut reliance on the national grid, improve electricity for Yenagoa and nearby communities, and spur industrial growth.

Tinubu called it a “critical intervention” for economic growth, jobs, and living standards. He toured the turbines, transformers, and systems to check readiness.

Governor Diri tied the project to the federal “Renewed Hope Agenda,” saying it positions Bayelsa for investment and industrialization. Energy experts view such state-led initiatives as key to overcoming national grid woes by tapping local gas resources.

Tinubu praised Diri’s roads, bridges, and dual carriageways for creating jobs and opportunities. “Thank you for that commitment and thank you for being a very progressive governor. To the people of Bayelsa State, I must tell you I’m very, very happy and proud to be here and to feel at home.”

On security, amid recent soldier killings, he vowed, “We will work hard. We will continue to equip and train our men and women of the armed forces. We will defeat terrorism and banditry, regardless of their shenanigans.”

Tinubu emphasized partnership: “We’re all working hard, and the project that I commissioned today demonstrates and testifies to an immutable truth. Development advances further, faster when the federal government and the state government work in partnership and towards a shared purpose. I hear you.”

Responding to Diri’s request for federal road refunds, Tinubu quipped, “I hear you, Douye. Federal Road. Okay, I will take it with me when I’m going. You build it for your people. When we met in my office, you were asking for a waiver for that and everything. Now you want reimbursement. It’s now Federal Road. I will take it with me.”

He endorsed the IPP: “The independent power plant is a blessing and good thinking, and I thank you for embarking on it. There can be no industrialization and skill development and empowerment without power.

“That is a vision. I will support you to do more. But if it’s my road to take with me, that’s okay. I won’t put a federal road in Lagos. So you and I will have to debate that.”

Tinubu highlighted job creation: “All the projects remind us that we must do them; we must create job opportunities. In the project, in construction, you have water suppliers, you have welders, you have concrete mixers, and all of that. It’s job creation.

“And I’ll do everything to support that. I’ll go along with you. The spirit of partnership, as you mentioned, is there and will continue to be there. And there’s no other way I could feel it.”

Governor Diri sought federal refunds for state-funded federal roads. He outlined his “Assured Prosperity” program, focusing on rural-urban development, accessibility, and projects like the outer ring road (Elebele to Igbogene), Glory Drive Phase 2, a nine-story civil servant secretariat, and a 30,000-seater international stadium.

The Yenagoa-Oporoma-Ukubie road, once a “nightmare” accessible only by water, now connects Southern Ijaw communities, Diri said: “It’s a story of connection long denied but finally pursued.”

He added that these projects will boost economic development.

The event drew former President Goodluck Jonathan and wife Patience, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Governors Hope Uzodinma (Imo), Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom), Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Borno Deputy Governor Umar Kadafur, Head of Civil Service Esther Walson-Jack, ex-Delta Governor James Ibori, Bayelsa Deputy Governor Peter Akpe, and Minister of State for Petroleum Heineken Lokpobiri.