FG Working on Diversifying the Economy – Osinbajo

• FG Working on Diversifying the Economy – Osinbajo

The Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Monday said the Federal Government was working on diversifying the economy away from unstable oil prices and reduce the impact of external factors on economic structure.

Osinbajo, who was at the 2020 International Conference on the Nigerian Commodity Market organised by the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, said the latest global development underscored the significance of diversification to the Nigerian economy.

He said, “As we are all aware, Nigeria is working on diversifying its economy as well as its revenue sources. The need to develop other channels of generating revenue and foreign exchange is critical.

“This need is further underscored by the recent drop in the global price of crude oil, which also constitutes a major threat to achieving planned government expenditure.

The nation’s revenue generation plunged with falling oil prices and expected to drop even further if nothing is done. The Brent crude against which Nigerian oil price is priced has lost more than 45 percent of its value this year and presently trading around $30 per barrel despite government setting 2020 benchmark for oil at $57 per barrel.

Osinbajo said: “There are various other initiatives towards mapping, quantifying and efficiently exploring the nation’s solid minerals deposits. Such efforts are equally necessary to diversify the country’s revenue sources from oil and create more opportunities in the regions where such solid minerals are deposited.

“No doubt, some of these developments in Nigeria’s agriculture and solid minerals sectors present emerging opportunities to be further enhanced and fully explored, all to the benefit of everyone in the country, as well as our foreign partners.”

Meanwhile, the central bank of Nigeria has deployed additional financial measures to support economic activities and boost growth across all sectors during this period.

The central bank lowered interest rates on intervention facilities from 9 percent to 5 percent to support businesses and encourage banks to extend tenor on loans to accommodate the present situation.