President Muhammadu Buhari says his
administration is working very hard to restructure the Nigerian economy,
battered by several years of mismanagement.
A statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Media
and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said Buhari stated this in Abuja on Monday
while receiving the Chief Global CEO of Unilever, Mr Paul Polman.
President Buhari |
The statement quoted the President as saying that Nigeria is
paying dearly for the incompetent management of the massive revenue that
accrued to the nation from oil.
It also quoted Buhari as saying that the country was
particularly paying dearly for over a decade's decay of critical
infrastructure.
''We refused to save for the rainy day. Now the rain is beating
us.
``No money, no savings, nothing. And we are thoroughly wet from
the rains," he said.
President Buhari said Nigeria was paying the price for turning
itself into a mono-economy.
He, however, assured that the country would soon be able to feed
its citizens and even export, given his administration's focus on the
development of the agriculture sector.
He assured that the Federal Government would fast-track the
implementation of strategies to ease doing business and to attract more
investors to Nigeria.
``We want to create jobs, and supporting manufacturing is one
way to do it.
``As soon as we have stabilised our budget, I would personally
be interested in the manufacturing sector, particularly in the generation of
essential raw materials,’’ the President said.
The Chief Global CEO of Unilever had told the President that the
conglomerate had been in Nigeria for 93 years, making it the oldest
manufacturing concern in the country.
``Our products are more Nigerian than other Nigerian brands.
``Despite the economic downturn, there are opportunities to
further advance our business here.
``The situation to invest and continue to invest here is very
encouraging," he said.
According to Polman, Unilever has invested at least N15 billion
in Nigeria in the past three years.(NAN)
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