No meaningful infrastructural development is possible in an environment where government depends on borrowed money to fund capital budget and subsidies.
Nigerian President Goodluck E. Jonathan made the declaration earlier on Friday during a meeting at the State House, Abuja, with a Special Adviser to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, Prof. Jeffrey Sachs.
Mr. Jonathan said that the deregulation of the petroleum sector is a necessary change Nigeria must make if government will have a significant impact in the lives of citizens.
According to president, the country’s 2010 capital budget was funded with borrowed money, the equivalent of which was used to fund the subsidy last year, adding that “no meaningful infrastructural development is possible in such an environment”.
President Jonathan stated that Administration was committed to making significant and enduring interventions in the areas of power generation and supply, roads, railways, capacity building and health, adding that these sectors have already been opened to private sector participation.
The President expressed appreciation to Prof. Sachs for his concern for the development of Nigeria and Africa.
Earlier, Prof. Sachs had commended President Jonathan for the conditional grants to local governments for the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, describing it as “one of the most innovative schemes of using national resources for local government development”.
He described President Jonathan’s decision to withdraw petroleum subsidy as “a bold and correct policy”, adding that funds so released would go a long way to rapid infrastructural development and the health sector.
Also on Friday, Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Erkki Tuomoija, has said his country and most of Europe has confidence in Nigeria’s economy and political system.
Dr. Tuomoija was speaking to President Goodluck Jonathan during an audience at State House, Friday.
“Your economy is doing very well, and many countries in Europe envy your growth figures”, he said, adding that “we have confidence in your democracy, and in your ability to deal with the terrorism and other challenges confronting you”.
Dr. Tuomoija described Nigeria as “a very important partner” and underlined the many similarities and views shared by the two countries on global issues in the United Nations and other multilateral fora.
He assured President Jonathan of Finland’s continued cooperation.
Responding, President Jonathan said Nigeria wanted to further strengthen relations with Finland, and invited more companies to invest in Nigeria, to take advantage of the huge market and incentives.
“We are opening up agriculture, water management, dams, food processing for private investment, some of these areas were previously exclusive to government”, he said, adding that a trade delegation led by the Minister of Trade and Investment will soon visit Finland.
President Jonathan acknowledged that the country was facing challenges, especially in the area of terrorism, and requested for technical assistance to check this.
At another audience today, the Angolan Minister of External Relations, Mr. George Rebelo Chicoty, brought a special message from President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos to President Goodluck Jonathan, sharing ideas on the situation in Guinea Bissau.