I Know Nigeria’s Problems Are Enormous, President Buhari Admits

                

President Muhammadu Buhari says he is aware there are enormous problems in Nigeria.

“I assure you that I know the enormity of our problems in terms of population growth rate and teeming young people.

“We need to move very fast, and the government will try and encourage you as very much as possible so that the problem of unemployment and the provision of other services relative to our population and state of development can be tolerated,” Nigeria’s president said.

President Buhari stated this while receiving the National Council of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), led by its President, Mansur Ahmed.

The president also promised to look into the presentation by MAN highlighting issues of concern to the manufacturing sector, namely the AfCFTA, Export Expansion Grant and other incentives, challenges with the 2019 fiscal policy measures, recent increase in NAFDAC charges, the Industrial Development (Income Tax Relief) (Amendment) Act, 2019, among others.

He pointed out that Nigeria would be guided by national interest in taking any decision on the agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Ahmed, who was worried about Nigeria signing up for AfCFTA said: “I don’t think Nigeria has the capacity to effectively supervise and to ensure that our colleagues in AU don’t allow their countries to be used to dump goods on us to the detriment of our young industries and our capacity to utilize foreign exchange for imported goods,” he said.