Atiku sends powerful message to Buhari over Nigeria's economy

- Former vice president Atiku Abubakar has urged the federal government to diversify Nigeria's economy - Atiku made the plea on Thursday, April 30, amid the falling price of fuel - The ex-VP noted that reliance on oil was failing all mono-product economy and crude oil exporters Atiku Abubakar, a Nigeria's former vice president and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the 2019 general election, has called on the federal government to diversify the country’s economy.

EMAGE reports that Atiku in a statement posted on his Twitter page on Thursday, April 30, stressed that reliance on oil was failing all mono-product economy, crude oil exporters. Atiku, in a statement titled: How to pull Nigeria from the brink, said Nigeria and her contemporaries had to “cure their addiction to sweet crude''

“For far too long we have grown high on our own supply, to the extent that we have neglected almost every other sector of our economy. This present rude awakening should be seen as a blessing in disguise – a blessing that compels us to take those drastic actions that will free us from the crude oil trap,” he said.

He added that the country needed to diversify the economy, saying that though it is easier said than done, it does not mean it is an impossible task. “Prior to Nigeria’s October 1, 1960 independence from Great Britain, not only were we a nation self-reliant in food production, but we also exported food to other countries, earning precious foreign exchange in the process. Loading. “Who can forget the great groundnut pyramids in Northern Nigeria? “For example, in 1957, agriculture formed a whopping 86% of our export revenue.

“By 1977, agricultural exports had dwindled to 6%, and today, the figure is less than 3%. “How did our country go from being a net exporter of agricultural products to a net importer of food products? How did we go from a country that could feed itself to one that desperately depends on foreign imports for survival? The answer to these questions is the leadership focus.”

Meanwhile, EMAGE had previously reported that Atiku's son, Mohammed defeated coronavirus pandemic after spending 40 days in isolation. It was reported that Mohammed in a message on Monday, April 27, said he has now tested negative for coronavirus. Mohammed was first confirmed to have contracted the virus on March 19, and was subsequently transferred to an isolation centre on the outskirts of the Nigerian capital, Abuja.

Comments

Coronavirus - FG seeks COVID-19 patients for herbal drug trials

The Federal Government says there are pharmaceutical processes and standards that must be observed before endorsing any proposed herbal or homegrown drug for use by coronavirus patients in the country. The Minister of State for Health, Olorunnimbe Mamora, made this known on Friday during a briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja. He said the health ministry would soon meet with scientists, researchers, and traditional medicine specialists in the country who have registered that they have one drug or the other for the treatment of Lethal virus. He noted that the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control would test such drugs to ascertain whether they are fit for human consumption, adding that such drugs would undergo clinical trials and this would require a few COVID-19 patients to willingly accept that the drugs be tested on them. Responding in Yoruba Language to a question asked by a reporter from an indigenous TV station, the ministe...

CORONAVIRUS - Osun records third COVID-19 death

Osun State Government on Saturday announced the death of another COVID-19 patient, taking the number of death linked to the disease to three in the last week. Also, three health workers that had initially tested positive to the disease in the state have fully recovered.The State’s Commissioner for Health, Dr. Rafiu Isamotu, in a statement, said the deceased in her late 60s died at the isolation centre in General Hospital, Asubiaro, Osogbo. Isamotu also said COVID-19 index case in the state had been discharged after spending thirty-eight days in isolation. He explained that the case had arrived in Osun State from the United Kingdom before being taken into the Isolation Centre, and subsequently to the care facility, where he received medical care for 38 days. He was said to have tested negative twice for the virus. He recalled that the health workers had last Wednesday, tested negative for COVID-19 but had to be subjected to a second round of tests, in line with the protocol of...

IMF may approve Nigeria’s $3.4bn loan today

There are strong indications that the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund may approve the $3.4bn loan sought by Nigeria on Tuesday (today). Although the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, had on April 6, while announcing that Nigeria had applied for the loan, said the funds were expected within six to 12 weeks, Reuters and Bloomberg reported that the IMF would meet over the request today. The reports quoted unofficial sources in the IMF. If approved, the loan would be among the largest allocations by the IMF to an African country in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is expected that the IMF Executive Board would approve the loan having already approved similar requests for several countries. According to the IMF, about 102 countries applied for aid as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, had in a statement on April 7 said the organ...

E_mage

Search This Blog