Buhari Orders Review Of Economic Policies Before 2016 Budget

President Muhammadu Buhari said
Monday in Abuja that he will gladly
reverse or abandon some inherited
economic policies if doing so will lead to
the creation of more jobs for Nigerians.
At a meeting in the Presidential
Villa with Executive Members of the
Manufacturers Association of Nigeria
(MAN), President Buhari directed the
Ministries of Industries, Trade and
Investment, and Finance, as well as the
Central Bank and other relevant
government agencies to evolve before
next year’s budget, new policies to boost
domestic manufacturing.
“We are in difficult times economically,
but we’ll continue to do our best for
manufacturing to pick up. We must begin
to behave as if we have no oil at all.
“We will gladly have policy somersaults, if
it will mean more jobs, particularly for
youths. I campaigned on three major
planks. To effectively secure our country,
provide employment through revamping
the economy, and wage a relentless war
against corruption. I intend to keep faith
with these promises,” the President said.
He lamented that the textile industry that
employed about 320,000 people in the
past only parades about 30,000 now.
“It shows the carelessness of past
governments, if almost 300,000 people
lose jobs in a single sector. We have a
clear idea of how we can stimulate
employment and we will work very hard
to do so,” President Buhari told the MAN
delegation.
The MAN President, Dr Frank Udemba
Jacobs had appealed for a review of
policies that stifle the manufacturing
sector, noting that the importance of a
robust manufacturing sector for the
general well-being of the economy cannot
be over-emphasized.

[b]Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
August 17, 2015[/b]