President Muhammadu Buhari Monday in Abuja called on\u00a0 Nigeria’s elite to
\nbe prepared to contribute more meaningfully towards helping the country
\novercome its current challenges.<\/p>\n
Speaking at an audience with the outgoing President of the African
\nDevelopment Bank (AfDB), Dr. Donald Kaberuka, President Buhari said that
\nprivileged and influential citizens clearly have to do more now than in
\nthe past to help the country deal successfully with its economic and
\nsecurity problems.<\/p>\n
“With the shock of falling oil prices, lack of revenues,\u00a0 and insecurity,
\nthe Nigerian elites must now wake up and provide the right guidance in
\ntheir\u00a0 communities, and also lead the economy on the right path more than
\nthey used to do,\u2019\u2019 the President said.<\/p>\n
President Buhari also told Mr. Kaberuka that his administration will
\nwelcome more support from the AfDB for projects in versatile sectors like
\nagriculture that can easily be explored to create more jobs for unemployed
\nNigerians.<\/p>\n
“An impression has been erroneously created that we are a rich country but
\nlooking at the economic profile of the country today, you will see that
\nthat is not necessarily the case.<\/p>\n
“Our social services have to be seriously rehabilitated. We need urgent
\nattention on areas like education and health services, not only in the
\nnorth eastern part of the country, but all round the country.<\/p>\n
“We will fall back on institutions like the AfDB for support in generating
\nemployment. We have vast potentials in the agricultural sector that can be
\nexplored to create more jobs.<\/p>\n
“We also have small businesses that need funds for expansion,” the
\nPresident told Mr. Kaberuka and other AfDB officials.<\/p>\n
The outgoing AfDB President told President Buhari that some development
\ninstitutions like the World Bank, German Development Bank and the
\nEuropean Development Bank had already indicated their readiness to
\nprovide long term loan facilities to small businesses in Nigeria.<\/p>\n
Mr. Kaberuka assured the President that the AfDB\u00a0 will always support
\neconomic projects in Nigeria.<\/p>\n
Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina of Nigeria will replace the outgoing AfDB President
\nnext month.<\/p>\n
The AfDB currently has a strong capital base of 4.8 billion U S dollars.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Muhammadu Buhari Monday in Abuja called on\u00a0 Nigeria’s elite to be prepared to contribute more meaningfully towards helping the country overcome its current challenges. Speaking at an audience with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41134,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n