Vice President Kashim Shettima has assured Nigerians living in the diaspora, particularly those in the United States, that Nigeria remains open for business despite negative stories about the country circulating on social media.
Shettima made the statement on Wednesday during an interactive session with members of the Nigerian diaspora community at the Nigeria House in New York. He urged Nigerians abroad to support the administration of President Bola Tinubu as it works to attract investment and reposition the economy.
“Be rest assured that beyond the negative stories that you hear and see in the social media, Nigeria is open for business. We have crossed the Rubicon, and we are on the path of sustained growth,” the Vice President said.
Shettima said the Federal Government was working to reposition key sectors of the economy, including education, health, science and technology, and agriculture.
He also described Nigerians in the diaspora as “the greatest resource of the future”, stressing that their knowledge, skills and experience could help unlock the country’s potential.
“Citizens of our country have the capacity and intellect to harness our nation’s potentials and take it to greater heights,” he added.
Shettima Defends Tinubu’s Economic Reforms
Speaking about the reforms introduced by the Tinubu administration, Shettima said the President had taken bold decisions from the beginning of his administration which, according to him, were aimed at repositioning the economy.
“When President Tinubu assumed office, he did not resort to trading blames and accusing his predecessor for the state of affairs of our nation. Rather, he took decisions that only a leader of courage and conviction would take,” he said.
The Vice President said the government was already seeing what it considers tangible results from the reforms, citing an increase in Nigeria’s foreign reserves from $3.9 billion to more than $55 billion and economic growth of 4.45 per cent in the last quarter.
He said improvements in the exchange rate and foreign reserves would help strengthen the safety of diaspora remittances, support exchange-rate stability and protect investments made by Nigerians living abroad.
“We are working day and night to reposition the Nigerian nation as investment confidence is returning to Nigeria, and the Dangote Refinery success story is a true manifestation in recent times,” Shettima said.
The Vice President said the administration was also determined to redefine modern governance, arguing that Africa was becoming increasingly important to global growth and that Nigeria had a major role to play in the emerging economic landscape.
NELFUND, Security and National Unity
On education, Shettima highlighted the Nigeria Education Loan Fund, saying more than 1.29 million students in tertiary institutions had accessed N125 billion since the programme began.
He also addressed Nigeria’s security challenges, saying the situation was not unique to the country and that the Federal Government was deploying available resources to deal with emerging threats.
The Vice President urged Nigerians to work towards building a united and prosperous nation, stressing the importance of focusing on what unites the country.
“Whatever binds us together supercedes whatever divides us as a people,” he said.
Governors, Ministers Attend New York Meeting
The gathering was attended by Governors Babagana Zulum of Borno State, Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara, Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara.
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele and spouses of the governors of Kwara, Katsina, Abia and Osun states were also present.
Among the government officials at the event were the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Science, Innovation and Technology, Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh; Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Bernard Doro; Education, Tunji Alausa; Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake; Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim; Minister of State for Budget and Economic Planning, Doris Uzoka-Anite; and Minister of State for the FCT, Mariya Bunkure.
Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Jimoh Ibrahim, Nigeria’s Ambassador to Washington, Kayode Are, heads of government agencies and senior officials of the Nigerian mission in the United States also attended the session.
