Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has listed measures the country
should take to address the economic fallouts of the COVID-19
pandemic on the economy.
The vice president listed the measures during his interaction at
the 2020 edition of ‘The Platform’ themed “Nigeria’s battle against
COVID-19.”
Speaking specifically about how the country can transform the
challenges caused by the pandemic into opportunities for economic
diversification and job creation, Osinbajo said prioritizing the
use of local resources and creating local jobs in the construction
and allied industry, amongst other things, will be critical in
sustaining the economy in the post-COVID-19 era.
He said: “We have to prioritize the use of local resources in
all public works. In road construction, for instance, it is cheaper
to build concrete roads using limestone than spending resources on
the importation of bitumen. We have limestone in abundance hence we
should be looking in that direction. The road from the Apapa port
to the Lagos –Ibadan expressway is being built with cement and is
of high quality.
“In the housing sector where we have a huge deficit, we need to
focus on using local resources to build houses and in the process,
we will be creating opportunities for young engineers, architects
and builders etc.”
In the area of agriculture, the vice president said the
government’s initial policies have saved the country from the huge
forex burden of food imports and related activities.
“We think that by ramping up agriculture, especially smallholder
agriculture and improving the value chain, especially in storage
and processing facilities, more jobs will be created for many young
people.
“We have found ourselves in a situation where we realize that
the way to go is to support the creation of the jobs in agriculture
and reduce food imports and ultimately address the issue of
unemployment and food shortages.
“What we must do as much as we can is to change the narrative
about Nigeria and provide more jobs.”
Still, on mitigating the fallouts of the COVID-19 pandemic such
as inflation, the vice president said the government would focus on
improving productivity and improving food stock across the
country.
According to him, “if you can ramp up food production and the
logistics of bringing food to the urban centres, inflation will be
controlled to a large extent.”
He added that boosting agricultural production for export
purposes and supporting the mining sector will bolster the
country’s foreign exchange earnings and reserves.
“We will get through this much stronger economically and much
stronger as a people because of our resilience. There are a lot of
challenges but they offer significant opportunities for us to turn
things around.”
Osinbajo expressed confidence that Nigeria will emerge stronger
post-COVID-19.
According to him. “I am very confident that Nigerians, with our
resilience, our strength and our innovation, we will go through
this in great shape.”
The Platform is an annual discussion programme of the Covenant
Christian Centre that features discussions around the state of the
Nigerian nation and its development. The May 2020 edition featured
virtual participants without a live audience as a result of the
global pandemic.
Other contributors to discussions at the virtual summit include
the Governors Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State; Babajide Sanwo-Olu of
Lagos State, Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State; Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta
State, Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State and Godwin Obaseki of Edo
State. The Director-General of the Nigeria Center for Disease
Control, Dr Chike Ihekweazu also spoke at the interaction which
included interviews, panel discussion and speeches.
The event was moderated by Pastor Poju Oyemade, the convener of
the platform.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has listed measures the country
should take to address the economic fallouts of the COVID-19
pandemic on the economy.
The vice president listed the measures during his interaction at
the 2020 edition of ‘The Platform’ themed “Nigeria’s battle against
COVID-19.”
Speaking specifically about how the country can transform the
challenges caused by the pandemic into opportunities for economic
diversification and job creation, Osinbajo said prioritizing the
use of local resources and creating local jobs in the construction
and allied industry, amongst other things, will be critical in
sustaining the economy in the post-COVID-19 era.
He said: “We have to prioritize the use of local resources in
all public works. In road construction, for instance, it is cheaper
to build concrete roads using limestone than spending resources on
the importation of bitumen. We have limestone in abundance hence we
should be looking in that direction. The road from the Apapa port
to the Lagos –Ibadan expressway is being built with cement and is
of high quality.
“In the housing sector where we have a huge deficit, we need to
focus on using local resources to build houses and in the process,
we will be creating opportunities for young engineers, architects
and builders etc.”
In the area of agriculture, the vice president said the
government’s initial policies have saved the country from the huge
forex burden of food imports and related activities.
“We think that by ramping up agriculture, especially smallholder
agriculture and improving the value chain, especially in storage
and processing facilities, more jobs will be created for many young
people.
“We have found ourselves in a situation where we realize that
the way to go is to support the creation of the jobs in agriculture
and reduce food imports and ultimately address the issue of
unemployment and food shortages.
“What we must do as much as we can is to change the narrative
about Nigeria and provide more jobs.”
Still, on mitigating the fallouts of the COVID-19 pandemic such
as inflation, the vice president said the government would focus on
improving productivity and improving food stock across the
country.
According to him, “if you can ramp up food production and the
logistics of bringing food to the urban centres, inflation will be
controlled to a large extent.”
He added that boosting agricultural production for export
purposes and supporting the mining sector will bolster the
country’s foreign exchange earnings and reserves.
“We will get through this much stronger economically and much
stronger as a people because of our resilience. There are a lot of
challenges but they offer significant opportunities for us to turn
things around.”
Osinbajo expressed confidence that Nigeria will emerge stronger
post-COVID-19.
According to him. “I am very confident that Nigerians, with our
resilience, our strength and our innovation, we will go through
this in great shape.”
The Platform is an annual discussion programme of the Covenant
Christian Centre that features discussions around the state of the
Nigerian nation and its development. The May 2020 edition featured
virtual participants without a live audience as a result of the
global pandemic.
Other contributors to discussions at the virtual summit include
the Governors Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State; Babajide Sanwo-Olu of
Lagos State, Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State; Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta
State, Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State and Godwin Obaseki of Edo
State. The Director-General of the Nigeria Center for Disease
Control, Dr Chike Ihekweazu also spoke at the interaction which
included interviews, panel discussion and speeches.
The event was moderated by Pastor Poju Oyemade, the convener of
the platform.