Falling oil price blessing to Nigeria – Minister
The Minister of National Planning, Dr. Abubakar Sulaiman, has said the falling price of oil in the international market is a blessing in disguise for the country.
He added that the development will impact positively on the nation’s development.
Presenting a paper entitled – “National Planning and Vision 20:2020: An Assessment” at an institutional lecture for Block 3 participants of the National Defence College (NDC) in Abuja, the minister said the falling oil price will bring out the resilience of Nigerians to explore other areas of generating revenue for national development.
Fielding questions from the participants, the minister said, “On the question regarding the drop in the international price of oil, we are up to the challenge as a country. It will simply bring out the resilience in us as a nation. We are up to the challenge of falling oil prices.
“All we need do is just to explore other areas. The customs has surpassed its target, same with FIRS. We need to block all loopholes which is what we are doing as a government. We can do without oil to survive because there are nations who do not have oil and are pretty surviving. So, what are we talking about?”
“The present administration is one that has foresight and had long prepared for this through its policies and programmes in various sectors, agriculture inclusive. Government is diversifying. Yes, it will affect us but not to the extent that people think. There are areas the country can still exploit. It is just a challenge that as a people we should not be lazy and get prepared for the future. Oil will not be there eternally.”