President Muhammadu Buhari today, August 17, noted that he would gladly reverse or abandon some economic policies if it could result in employment opportunities for the youths.
The president made this known as he hosted executives of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in his Aso Rock residence in Abuja.
Moreover, he directed the relevant ministries and government agencies to develop new policies to boost domestic manufacturing before next year's budget.
"We are in difficult times economically, but we’ll continue to do our best for manufacturing to pick up. We must begin to behave as if we have no oil at all," Buhari stated through his media aide Femi Adesina
“We will gladly have policy somersaults, if it will mean more jobs, particularly for youths. I campaigned on three major planks. To effectively secure our country, provide employment through revamping of the economy, and wage a relentless war against corruption. I intend to keep faith with these promises.”
Referring to the figures, the presidency lamented that in textile industry the number of jobs decreased from 320,000 to only 30,000 and blamed the past administrations for such an unfortunate development.
“It shows the carelessness of past governments, if almost 300,000 people lose jobs in a single sector. We have a clear idea of how we can stimulate employment and we will work very hard to do so.”