Vice President Kashim Shettima has assured Nigerians in the diaspora, particularly those living in the United States, that Nigeria is open for business despite the negative stories about the country on social media.
Shettima said the Federal Government was working to reposition the Nigerian economy and attract investment, urging Nigerians in the diaspora to support the administration of President Bola Tinubu in transforming the country’s economic fortunes.
“Be rest assured that beyond the negative stories that you hear and see in the social media, Nigeria is open for business. We have crossed the rubicon, and we are on the path of sustained growth,” the Vice President said.
He spoke on Wednesday at the Nigeria House in New York during an interactive session with the Nigerian diaspora community in the United States, according to a statement issued on Thursday by his media aide, Stanley Nkwocha.
Shettima said the administration was doing its best to reposition the economy, particularly in education, health, science and technology, and agriculture, while leveraging the intellect of Nigerians in the diaspora, which he described as “the greatest resource of the future”.
“Citizens of our country have the capacity and intellect to harness our nation’s potentials and take it to greater heights,” he added.
Speaking on the reforms undertaken by the administration, the Vice President said President Tinubu had been courageous from the onset, taking bold decisions that had continued to reposition the economy.
“When President Tinubu assumed office, he did not resort to trading blames and accusing his predecessor for the state of affairs of our nation. Rather, he took decisions that only a leader of courage and conviction would take,” he said.
Shettima said the gains of the reforms were already yielding tangible results, citing an increase in the country’s foreign reserves from $3.9 billion to over $55 billion and a 4.45 per cent growth in the last quarter.
He added that improvements in the exchange rate and foreign reserves resulting from the reforms would guarantee the safety of diaspora remittances, stability of the exchange rate and investments made by Nigerians in the diaspora.
“We are working day and night to reposition the Nigerian nation as investment confidence is returning to Nigeria, and the Dangote Refinery success story is a true manifestation in recent times,” the Vice President said.
Shettima said the administration was determined to redefine the meaning of modern governance, noting that the trajectory of global growth was facing Africa and that Nigeria had a major role to play in the emerging era.
On education, he spoke about the introduction of the Nigeria Education Loan Fund, saying over 1.29 million Nigerian students in tertiary institutions had accessed N125 billion since the programme began.
On security challenges, the Vice President said the situation was not peculiar to Nigeria, adding that the administration was deploying all means at its disposal to contain emerging challenges.
He also urged Nigerians to work towards building a united and prosperous nation, saying “whatever binds us together supercedes whatever divides us as a people”.
Governors Babagana Zulum of Borno State, Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara, Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara attended the event. Also present were Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, and spouses of the governors of Kwara, Katsina, Abia and Osun states.
Others included the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Science, Innovation and Technology, Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh; Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Bernard Doro; Education, Tunji Alausa; Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake; Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim; Minister of State for Budget and Economic Planning, Doris Uzoka-Anite; and Minister of State, FCT, Mariya Bunkure.
Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Jimoh Ibrahim; Nigeria’s Ambassador to Washington, Kayode Are; heads of government agencies and top officials of the Nigerian mission in the US were also present.
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