President Muhammadu Buhari has said that his administration would shun all anti-development policies in order to create a more conducive atmosphere for entrepreneurs.
He also lamented that Nigeria was at the lowest ebb as far as industrial development was concerned.
According to a statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, Buhari spoke at a meeting with the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Abdulkadir Musa, and senior officials of agencies under the ministry.
Buhari was quoted as saying that employment generation was one of his key campaign promises and that he would keep to the promise.
The President was quoted as saying that “With high interest rates and entrepreneurs needing trillions of naira to buy machinery, we are virtually back at ground zero as far as industrial development is concerned.
“So, we will shun all anti-development policies and make the climate more suitable for entrepreneurs. We will create the environment for them to thrive. Generating employment was one of our key campaign promises and we will keep that promise.
“We will no longer allow our markets to be flooded with things that we can produce ourselves. We must believe in our system. Whenever you need my intervention, please come to me.”
He said his administration would implement essential reforms to protect indigenous manufacturers from unfair competition from abroad.
He said with its focus on job creation, his government was ready to do whatever it considered necessary to boost domestic manufacturing and industrialisation.
The President said that his administration would fully support the effective implementation of the plan evolved by the ministry to boost local manufacturing through legal, regulatory and structural reforms; lower interest rates, special intervention funds, protection of local manufacturers and significant improvements in national infrastructure.
Musa and his team reportedly told the President that the objective of the ministry’s Industrial Revolution Plan was to create more jobs, diversify exports and broaden the country’s tax base.
They said that the plan’s critical success factors included dialogue and consultation with industry stakeholders, essential reforms and greater collaboration among relevant agencies.
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