In a chat with news men today, Tuesday at the Aso Presidential Villa, senior special adviser to the President on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu said: “you know that the reconstitution of the board members began methodically, from sector by sector. You should expect that to resume at the beginning of the New Year. The President has given directives on what to do.”
Garba Shehu said that the Presidency is fully aware that this is an issue of interest to a lot of the members of the governing party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
On the agricultural programs of the Buhari’s administration, Malam Garba said that the President’s persistent call for a return to farming is yielding good results.
“The talk about agriculture has driven people to the farm. This year, there is a huge boom in the rural economy. We have witnessed an excellent harvest. Farmers are getting value for their output. What has encouraged farmers the more is the increasing availability of extension services. New farming techniques are helping farmers to do their occupation better. The readiness of off takers to buy the produce is also a major boost.
“When you put all these together with the systematic move to curb importation as a boost local production through the restriction of the available foreign exchange to critically important sectors of the economy, you have favorable environment for the diversification of the economy.
“As we speak, several of the country’s major manufacturing industries are actively backward-integrating- Nestle, Unilever, the breweries are looking what we have as local materials, changing their formulations to maintain production levels and keep their share of the market. Manufacturers who are hooked on import of raw materials are advised to re-strategize and take full advantage of local raw materials. The future belongs to those who employ the use of local raw materials.” [myad]
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