President Muhammadu Buhari has revealed that some of the policies his government will implement may hurt operations of some businesses in the short term, but added that those measures were right for a sustainable economy.
Speaking in New Delhi yesterday during an interactive session with Chief Executives of Indian companies with interests in Nigeria, President Buhari listed some of the measures to include tight expenditure controls, effective fiscal and monetary policies and “husbandry” of scarce resources. Buhari is in India for the 3rd India-Africa summit.
He said with abundance of human and material resources, the Nigerian economy did not have to suffer unduly from low oil prices despite its severe impact on government revenues.
“What is required of us, to which we are strongly committed, is the implementation of tight expenditure controls, effective fiscal and monetary policies, including the husbandry of scarce resources which our introduction of the Treasury Single Account has begun to address.
“We are aware some of these measures may hurt operations of some businesses in the short term, but we believe they are right for a sustainable economy”.
The president assured that despite the fall in oil prices, his administration remained fully committed to maintaining macro-economic stability and improving investors’ confidence in Nigeria.
Buhari, who noted that India had been a dependable ally and friend of Nigeria, urged the chief executives to expand their companies’ investments in Nigeria “so that we can, together, turn our engagements into a win-win situation for our two countries”.
The president also urged the Indian CEOs to accept the changes in policy being introduced by his administration and observe all extant Nigerian laws in running their business in Nigeria.
Buhari emphatically warned that his government would not tolerate the importation of sub-standard goods, especially foods and medicines, into Nigeria.
“We can increase and diversify the current volume of our bilateral trade beyond US$16.36 billion, and diversify to other critical sectors such as agriculture; green technologies in power generation; infrastructure; information and communications technologies; the services sector; education; industry, especially textiles and solid minerals among others,” Buhari said.