I’ll ban importation of rice, tomato –Buhari

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!