Buhari restates commitment to diversifying economy

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed Nigeria’s determination to significantly reduce the very high bill for importation of food products to the country.

At a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mr. Lars Rasmussen, on the sidelines of the 4th World Leaders’ Nuclear Summit in Washington DC, Buhari reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to the rapid diversification of Nigeria’s economy.

A statement by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, quoted him as lamenting that the country had the opportunity of diversifying its economy in the past but failed and relied on a single source of economy.

He said: “We developed a mono-product economy and lost opportunities to diversify in the past. We have great potentials for agriculture and solid minerals. We are now determined to exploit them to the fullest. Addressing the past neglect of these two sectors will help to reduce unemployment and make us a more productive country.

“We will welcome more investment in our agriculture and solid minerals sectors from countries with expertise in the two sectors. We abandoned them for petroleum. Now, we have to go back.

“Our bill for the importation of food and dairy products is very high. We want to cut it as much as possible by developing our local potentials,” the President told Mr. Rasmussen.

Buhari assured the Danish Prime Minister that the Federal Government would continue to work in partnership with other countries to further improve maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea.

The President said his administration is determined to stop the huge loss of revenue from crude oil theft and has received assurances of international support to curb illegal shipments of Nigeria’s crude oil.