Victor EzejaAmidst hard times occasioned by surging inflation, Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu, has promised to do everything possible to remove obstacles to ease of doing business in the country.
The inflation, caused by rising energy and food costs, an aftermath of the petrol subsidy removal, foreign exchange reforms and insecurity has put businesses on edge with some multinationals announcing exit from the country and domestic ones folding up.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelIn recent months, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Procter & Gamble (P&G), and Sanofi among others, announced exit from the country due to unfavorable microeconomic conditions. According to Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), many domestic companies al close down every year over rising operating costs.
To address this, President Tinubu while speaking during his new year broadcast on Monday, said the message of his administration to all investors has been that Nigeria is ready for business.
He said that in new year, his government will “race against time to ensure all the fiscal and tax policies reforms we need to put in place are codified and simplified to ensure the business environment does not destroy value.”
“I will fight every obstacle that impedes business competitiveness in Nigeria and I will not hesitate to remove any clog hindering our path to making Nigeria a destination of choice for local and foreign investments,” he added.
While stating that he feels the pains of Nigerians, as a result of economic reforms, Tinubu assured that his team would “work diligently to make sure every Nigerian feels the impact of their government,” adding that they would implement a new national living wage for our industrious workers this new year.”
The president also promised to boost food security by stepping up efforts to cultivate 500,000 hectares of farmlands across the country to grow maize, rice, wheat, millet and other staple crops.
The president recalled that he had promised to launch the dry season farming with 120,000 hectares of land in Jigawa State last November under our National Wheat Development Programme.
The Nigerian leader first hinted his intention to tackle food crisis in the country during his July 31 address on steps his administration was taking to address the effect of the petrol subsidy removal on Nigerians.
He had said that out of the N500 billion approved by the National Assembly for the subsidy palliatives scheme, N200 billion will be invested in cultivation of rice, maize, wheat cassava and other stable crops.
“Our plan to support the cultivation of 500,000 hectares of farmland and all-year-round farming practice remains on course. To be specific, N200 billion out of the N500 billion approved by the National Assembly will be disbursed as follows:
“Our administration will invest N50 billion each to cultivate 150,000 hectares of rice and maize.
“N50 billion each will also be earmarked to cultivate 100,000 hectares of wheat and cassava.
“This expansive agricultural programme will be implemented targeting small-holder farmers and leveraging large-scale private sector players in the agric business with strong performance record,” Tinubu said on July 31.
Reiterating that promise, the Nigerian leader in his new year message said: “To ensure constant food supply, security and affordability, we will step up our plan to cultivate 500,000 hectares of farmlands across the country to grow maize, rice, wheat, millet and other staple crops.”
On tackling power sector crisis, the president said the deal signed with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz revive the Siemens Energy power project in Nigeria, “will ultimately deliver reliable supply of electricity to our homes and businesses under the Presidential Power Initiative which began in 2018.”
He expressed optimism that the Port Harcourt and Dangote refineries billed to start refining of petroleum products this year would address energy crisis in the country.
He called on Nigerians to play their parts for national growth, adding that the job of ensuring good governance, is not the business of only political leaders.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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