President Muhammadu Buhari has confessed that it has been difficult running Nigeria’s economy because of the fall in the price of crude oil globally.
“It has been a very difficult year for Nigeria. Before we came to office, petroleum sold for about $100 per barrel. Then it crashed to $37, and now oscillates between $40 and $45 per barrel. “Suddenly, we are a poor country, but commitment to transparency and accountability is not making people know that there is severe shortage.”
President Buhari spoke Thursday at State House, Abuja, while receiving the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Director and Under Secretary General of the United Nations, Professor Babatunde Osotimehin.
He said that what the country needed to survive the difficult time as a result of severe shortage of resources is commitment to transparency and accountability.
Buhari begged UNFPA to bear with Nigeria in whichever area the country could not live up to its responsibilities for now.
He reminded UNFPA that explosion in the population and different cultural practices in the country should be a fertile ground for its research.
The President thanked the UN agency for its commitment to saving lives in Nigeria, particularly of women and children.
On food security, President Buhari said that reports from the North-East of the country are encouraging, as people have started returning to their farmlands, with the guarantee of relative security.
Prof Osotimehin, who is former Minister of Health in Nigeria, said that UNFPA is determined to promote health care facilities across the country. He said that reduction of maternal mortality is possible if the country would pay more attention to access to health facilities and human resources to run them.
He encouraged Nigeria to commit to providing resources for health care, on a rollover basis, pledging that the UN would work with the country to provide humanitarian assistance not only in the North-East, “but even extended to the Lake Chad basin.” [myad]
