External Challenges Reinforce Importance of Diversification -Buhari

• External Challenges Reinforce Importance of Diversification -Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday said the current low oil prices due to coronavirus and global uncertainty only reinforce the significance of ensuring that the nation is self-sufficient in strategic goods.

President Muhammadu Buhari, who spoke at the Presidential Villa during a dinner he hosted for participants of the “Going for Growth 2.0 Roundtable”, the 45 percent drop in crude oil prices would affect the ability of the government to finance key infrastructure this year.

Buhari said, “The onset of the coronavirus in December 2019, which has spread to over 100 countries, is having a significant impact on global growth, as well as commodity prices such as crude oil, which has dropped by over 45 per cent since January 2020.

“These external challenges have only served to reinforce the importance of ensuring that Nigeria is self-sufficient in the production of strategic goods.

“They have also highlighted the fact that we need to continue to implement measures that would enable growth in other sectors of our economy and reduce our dependence on earnings from crude oil.

“For these objectives to be achieved, the vital role of the Nigerian private sector cannot be disputed or overemphasised.”

Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the Governor, CBN, explained that the ‘Going for Growth 2.0’ was followed up to the first one organised in Lagos in June 2019, saying it was timely, coming amid coronavirus pandemic and lower oil prices.

He said, “The coronavirus has affected global supply chains in key markets and has resulted in significant reductions in the demand for goods and services by consumers.

“More importantly, the impact of the coronavirus has led to a 45 per cent decrease in the price of crude oil since the beginning of the year. It is expected that global growth would also drop in 2020.

“Given our dependence on crude oil for close to 80 per cent of our export earnings and 50 per cent of government expenditures, the drop affects the government’s ability to meet its capital and infrastructure funding objectives.”