…Nigeria will remain a highly valued contributor to the global economy
Abubakar Yunusa Abuja
The flag bearer of Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi has pledged to do everything possible to sustain these crucial investment inflows in Nigeria if he is elected as a president,come general election.
In a tweet on Friday,he said “My administration, when I am elected President of Nigeria, will make sure that we do everything to sustain these crucial investment inflows. I do not like to talk much about Nigeria’s “potential” because ‘potential’ is a word that we have come to over use.
“We should have long reaped the fruits of that potential by now if we had had the serious leadership commitment to do so. That said; let me say that Nigeria does have the potential to be a key exporter of agricultural produce to the world.
“My country is richly endowed with God-given resources—has over 84 million hectares of arable land. To put this in geographical context, Nigeria’s arable land is larger than the entire land mass of Turkey. And barely 40% of this arable land is cultivated today.
“Nigeria’s arable land is her new oil and gold. The Obi-Datti administration, from its inception will continue to encourage investment in infrastructure – energy,
transport, irrigation, and telecoms—to grow these and other sectors. We are eager to quickly close the infrastructure gap between now and 2030”,he said .
Speaking further,he said ,the Nigeria and the Africa that we want by the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals target year.
That is the Africa we want by our own African Union 2063 framework. Nigeria will remain a highly valued contributor to the global economy. We will invest in security, in diplomacy, and in economic engagement with our partners like the UK and other democratic nations.
“With the kind of reforms that my government will make, we will ensure that investment—both domestic and foreign—will grow our agriculture sector to feed Nigerians and the wider world.
“My last points could easily have been my first, but I preferred not to lead with them. It is the issue of corruption and investment protection. It is no secret that corruption has been endemic and one of the biggest obstacles to our economic progress in Nigeria.
“We are not proud of this, and my administration, when we come in, will tackle this challenge head on. We will have zero tolerance for corruption. You can expect a sledgehammer approach.
“We look forward to the international community supporting Nigeria’s efforts to promote economic growth and social inclusion; to our boldly tackling corruption from its roots.”