Vice President Kashim Shettima has said that the administration of President Bola Tinubu is committed to a governance model anchored on public engagement, empathy, and shared responsibility, rather than one crafted in isolation.

Speaking at a two-day interactive session on Government-Citizens Engagement organised by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation in Kaduna, Shettima stated that the government is “walking hand in hand with the people through critical national reforms.”

Naijaonpoint reports that the Vice President, who was represented by Dr Aliyu Umar Moddibo, Special Adviser to the President on General Duties (Office of the Vice President), said Tinubu’s style of governance has never been about technocratic detachment but about listening, convening, and responding.

“What we nurture today is not just a government of the people but a government with the people,” Shettima said.

“The President has demonstrated time and again that his administration is neither crafting policy in solitude nor assuming that technocracy alone delivers results.”

Citing key reforms shaped by citizen feedback, Shettima said the much-debated student loan scheme, originally passed as the Access to Higher Education Act, was repealed and re-enacted based on public input.

“We removed income ceilings and guarantor barriers that had become symbolic walls between ambition and opportunity. No student should be disqualified for being born on the wrong side of poverty,” he stated.

On the controversial tax regime, Shettima said the administration established a Presidential Committee on Tax and Fiscal Policy Reforms, which consulted widely with stakeholders across states.

“When objections arose from governors and citizens alike, the President did not dismiss them. He ensured tax bills passed through public hearings,” he said.

“Even unpopular taxes inherited from past regimes, like the 10% levy on single-use plastics and the telecom tax, were suspended after critical review.”

Fuel Subsidy Removal Met With Empathy, Not Threats – Shettima Says

Speaking on the removal of fuel subsidies, the Vice President said the Tinubu-led government recognised the pain it caused citizens and responded with practical relief measures rather than intimidation.

“We met with labour unions not with threats, but with empathy,” Shettima noted.

“We offered palliative packages, increased wages, waived diesel taxes, and introduced CNG buses to cushion transport costs. We were not merely reacting, we were responding.”

Reflecting on the event’s symbolic setting, Shettima paid tribute to the legacy of Sir Ahmadu Bello, saying his example reminds leaders that occupying office is not the goal of leadership, service is.

“It is always a privilege to gather under the luminous legacy of Sir Ahmadu Bello. His memory reminds us that leadership is not simply about occupying office, but about shouldering the burden of service,” he said.

Shettima assured that reforms across sectors would continue to be rooted in citizen participation, noting that the administration will not hesitate to adjust policies where necessary to better serve the people.

Naijaonpoint reports that the interactive session, attended by northern stakeholders, civil society leaders, and policy experts, focused on fostering government-citizen collaboration and ensuring that electoral promises translate into tangible development outcomes.