President Muhammadu Buhari said Nigeria has spent 720.5billion naira on capital expenditure this year to help revive Nigeria’s economy out of recession.
In a televised speech he gave on Nigeria’s Independence Day, he said “I believe that this recession will not last. Several hundreds of thousands (unemployed) workers will be engaged in the next few months as our public works program gains momentum.”
According to the president, the government has been negotiating to end militant attacks on the oil and Gas facilities in the Niger Delta and would not be intimidated by armed groups.
The President also expressed his optimism that the country’s economy will get better with time. He said the government was working on repairing the country’s four refineries to end costly imports. Buhari assured the masses that the naira exchange rate to the dollar would stabilize after dropping to a record low due to a “critical” shortage of hard currency amid low oil prices.
Meanwhile, crude oil production has not been affected by an explosion that happened in Warri.According to Nigeria union of petroleum and Gas workers(NUPENG),the explosion was heard by locals , which followed a series of attack on oil and gas facilities in the Niger Delta, by the militants that have cut the country’s crude oil to a third of its normal capacity.
This is coming against the background of India’s plan to buy more crude oil from Nigeria.
India’s vice president, Hamid Ansari, was quoted during a visit to Abuja last week that “his country, which is the leading buyer of Nigeria’s crude oil, will increase its purchase of the commodity in addition to natural gas”
The 2016 budget of Nigeria,was the largest in the nation’s history, but the decline in oil price and the constant bombings of pipelines in the Niger Delta, has left the government sourcing for funds.