1:50:00 AM
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday
promised that the 2016 budget being prepared by his administration would
be specially designed to encourage the diversification of the nation’s
economy.
He said new policies and measures that
would move the economy away from the current dependence on the oil and
gas sector would be introduced.
The President, however, did not disclose the specific policies and measures.
According to a statement by his Senior
Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, Buhari spoke
while receiving the President of the Movement of the Enterprises of
France, Mr. Pierre Gattaz, and a delegation of French investors at the
Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The President made the disclosure just as
the French investors sought assurances from Buhari on the safety of
their planned investments in Nigeria
Shehu quoted Buhari as saying that
policies being evolved by his administration to boost domestic
manufacturing and attract greater investment to Nigeria’s agricultural
and mining sectors would be given full effect in the 2016 budget.
The President urged Gattaz and the French
trade mission, which included over 50 companies with interest in
manufacturing, agriculture, infrastructure development and other areas,
to return to Nigeria again next year in order to take full advantage of
the new policies.
He also assured the French investors that
under his leadership, Nigeria would not fall short of international
standards in the protection of foreign investments and the repatriation
of returns on such investments.
The President agreed that domestic security and the inflow of foreign investment were intrinsically linked.
He, therefore, told his guests, whose
visit to Nigeria is a follow-up to his recent trip to Paris, that the
Federal Government was taking necessary measures to overcome the present
security challenges in the country.
Buhari said, “Our government came into
office at a time when many people had abandoned the country’s
manufacturing, agricultural and mining sectors.
“We are doing our best to encourage
diversification into these sectors, which can employ a lot of people,
and we will welcome your support in this regard.
“Ultimately, reducing unemployment will also help to improve security, because unemployment and insecurity are inseparable.”
The President said Nigeria would welcome
more French investments to its power sector because the availability of
steady power supply would lead to the reopening of closed factories and
the creation of more jobs.
He also assured the delegation that his
administration was tackling corruption with vigour in order to ensure
greater probity in the management of national resources.
The MEDEF President, who spoke on behalf
of the French investors, sought assurances from Buhari on the safety of
their planned investments in Nigeria and the easing of bureaucratic
bottlenecks.
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