I’ll ban importation of rice, tomato –Buhari

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives
Congress, Maj.-Gen. Muhammad Buhari (retd), on
Monday said if elected on February 14, he would
ban the importation of basic items like rice and
tomato in order to enhance local production of the
products.
He also said his administration would focus on
agriculture, mining, infrastructure and job provision
at the top of its economic agenda.
Buhari, who gave a summary of how he intended
to revive the economy in a meeting with the
Organised Private Sector in Lagos, said his
government would place emphasis on three key
issues of security, tackling corruption and reviving
the ailing economy.
The meeting, which had all the key members of the
APC in attendance, was hosted by the Lagos State
Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola.
“How can Nigeria be importing virtually
everything? How can we be importing even
tomatoes? If I am elected, basic items like rice and
tomatoes, which we have the capacity to produce,
will be banned from being imported,” Buhari said.
The APC presidential candidate said his
commitment to the Nigerian people would be
governed by the highest consideration for how his
policies would create jobs.
He also said he would focus on the provision of
infrastructure such as power and roads.
Buhari, who said he agreed with the current
administration on the privatisation of the power
utilities, however, said there would be a need to
also privatise the transmission segment.
According to him, the privatisation of the power
sector has yet to achieve the desired result
because after the handing over of the assets to
private investors, the hard work to connect the
various parts of the power chain, supply gas,
install transformers and complete substations has
not been done.
He added, “Our studies show that we will require
no less than 200,000 trained personnel to support
the initiative to provide power and light up Nigeria.
“Apart from the inherent direct employment that
this will give, the reduction in the cost of
production, the savings from self-generation by
Nigerians, who currently spend a lot of their
income on purchase of diesel and petrol to
generate their own electricity, will reduce the
burden on their disposable income.”
An existing plan to build a refinery in Lagos will be
supported by the Federal Government, according to
Buhari.
Another area of infrastructure investment that will
receive attention, according to him, is road and
highway construction from one end of the country
to the other.
He said his administration would concentrate on
roads and highways that linked the states, while
state governments would be expected to connect
their respective areas to the highways.
Buhari said, “Road construction alone will unlock
value chain of opportunities for construction
companies, builders, engineers, architects, quarry
operators, cement and iron rod producers and
suppliers.
“The successful opening up of Nigeria by the
construction of new roads and highways will revive
road transport, truck manufacture, tyre
manufacture as well as engine oil and brake pad
production on one hand. It will also create a
demand for job for mechanics, drivers and those
engaged in transport support businesses.
“We expect a revival of all the interstate economies
to thrive across Nigeria, providing support to
travellers by way of canteens, restaurants, farm
produce etc.”
He, however, said because corruption was affecting
the performance of the economy, he would tackle it
headlong if elected into office.
According to him, the alleged $20bn missing crude
oil proceeds, which was estimated to be equal to
about N4.2tn, were nearly a year’s budget.
He said with N5m per vehicle, the amount could
provide 840,000 patrol vehicles to help improve on
the security of towns and villages across the
country.
The APC presidential candidate also noted that the
amount could provide 311,000 buses that could
revolutionise the transport sector of the economy.
He said, “If the average cost of generating one
megawatt of power is about $1.5m (excluding gas
and distribution costs), $20bn would have brought
us over 13,333MW of power. What a difference that
will make in the country!