President Goodluck Jonathan has said the federal government will continue to ensure stability in the value of the naira by striving to take away speculative actions that cause market exchange pressures.
He also assured Nigerians and international investors that the federal government would continue to build and maintain a healthy external reserves position and strengthen fiscal buffers.
The president added that in 2015, his administration would continue to lay the foundation for a vibrant economy that attracts significant foreign direct investment as well as to promote policies that ensure economic stability.
“We will ensure that the naira remains strong, and gives foreign investors the clarity and certainty that they need, to guide future investment decisions.
“We will continue to improve our payment systems and strengthen risk-based supervision mechanism for Nigerian banks to ensure overall health and stability of the banking system,” he said.
He also disclosed plans by the federal government to introduce a broad spectrum of financial instruments to boost sector-specific enterprise areas in agriculture, micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs), manufacturing, and oil and gas.
These, according to him, would enhance “our aggregate supply capacity, reduce poverty, promote job creation and increase the general well-being of our people.”
He added: “These efforts and other measures being spearheaded by relevant
ministries, departments and agencies, are geared to ensure a secure future for Nigeria and create a much more prosperous country, where people live more peaceful and fulfilled lives.
“We have contended with the normal challenges of nation-building and the unusual challenges of terrorism.
“Amongst other achievements, we have rehabilitated and expanded our rail transportation network, successfully privatised power generation and distribution, significantly reformed and increased local participation in our oil and gas industry, and improved nationwide access to potable water from 57 per cent in 2010, to 70 per cent at present.
“We have also made significant progress in improving access to primary, secondary and tertiary education by building and equipping more schools, including special Almajiri schools, and establishing additional universities to ensure that each state of the nation now has at least one Federal University.
“Our national economy maintained a steady growth rate of close to seven per cent in the past four years and millions of fresh employment opportunities were created for our people as a direct consequence.
“Recently, we launched the Youth Employment in Agriculture Programme (YEAP) and the $100 million dollars Government and Donor Fund for Agriculture Finance in Nigeria (FAFIN) to fast-track the positive transformation of our agricultural sector.” – Thisday.
