Vice President Kashim Shettima has said the Federal Government empathises with the citizens, especially the poor amid the hardship faced by Nigerians, stating that the government has no option.

Shettima made this statement in Abuja on Monday during the 30th anniversary of the Nigerian Economic Summit.

He defended the economic policies of the current administration, while highlighting steps taken by the government to improve the economy.

He said some of the policy options available were painful, but almost inevitable.

“My heart and the heart of President Bola Tinubu go to the Nigerian people. We empathise with what the poor and the young are going through in the Nigerian nation but we have no option.

“Some of these decisions are unpopular but the truth is most often the truth that men prepare not to hear,” he said.