Nigeria must work towards self-sufficiency, as it battles recession – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari today reaffirmed that his administration is fully committed and determined to do all within its powers to achieve the rapid diversification of Nigeria’s economy in the shortest possible time.

The country is reportedly heading towards a recession as Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) dropped to a 12 year low of -0.36 percent in the first quarter of this year (Q1 2016). Statistics by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) also showed that the unemployment rate in the Nigerian economy climbed to 12.1 percent in the first quarter of this year (Q1 of 2016) compared to 10.4 per cent in Q4 of 2015 and 9.9 percent in the Q3 of 2015.

Speaking at a farewell audience with the outgoing Iranian Ambassador to Nigeria, Saeed Koozechi, President Buhari said he was convinced that with greater diligence, hard work and patriotic determination to achieve self-sufficiency, Nigeria can produce most of the items currently on its import list.

“We made a terrible mistake by becoming a mono-product economy hinged on oil and we are now in a volatile situation, due to the crash in oil prices.
“We have seen the benefits of diversification which helped Iran to survive many years of sanctions and still come out strong.
“We are now fully committed to economic diversification. Most of the things on our import bills can be produced here. And we are determined to achieve that self-dependency,” a statement by Presidential spokesman Femi Adesina quoted the President as saying.

At a separate audience with the outgoing Chinese Ambassador, GuXiaojie, President Buhari gave an assurance that the Federal Government will continue to do its best to meet its obligations under bilateral agreements with China for the development of critical infrastructure in Nigeria.

The President said that because of their importance to Nigeria, his administration will uphold contractual agreements with Chinese companies for the development of essential infrastructure which it inherited from past administrations, and work to ensure that the projects are speedily completed.

The President reiterated his particular commitment to the completion of the Mambilla Power Project which, he said, was of great strategic importance to his government’s efforts to ensure that Nigeria does not become over-reliant on gas-powered electricity generation.

President Buhari commended the outgoing ambassadors for their efforts to strengthen bilateral relations between Nigeria and their countries during their tenure in Abuja.
He wished them well in their future endeavours.

 

Elizabeth Archibong