Aliko Dangote, Chairman of the Dangote Group, has explained how the country’s struggling economy can be turned around in a few months.
Speaking to State House Correspondents after the inauguration of the Presidential Economic Coordination Council (PECC) by President Bola Tinubu, Dangote said the public and private sectors would work together to turnaround the economy.
The Africa’s richest man promised that the private sector will advise the government on the type of policies needed to revamp the economy.
He said: “This is where the public and private sector will work together. We will advise the government on the type of policies needed to revamp the economy.
“Our economy can be turned around in few months. Things will soon change. We will work to make sure that things change for the better”.
This comes days after the businessman criticised the hike of interest rate to almost 30 per cent by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Speaking at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja at the commencement of a three-day summit organised by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Dangote called for new policies that would protect domestic industries.
“Nobody can create jobs with an interest rate of 30%. No growth will happen. We must look to leading countries in the West and the East who are actively protecting their domestic industries,” he stated.
“Import dependence is equivalent to importing poverty and exporting jobs. No power, no growth, no prosperity. Similarly, no affordable financing, no growth, no prosperity. There is no industrialisation without protection. Ignoring these facts is what gives rise to insecurity, banditry, kidnapping and abject poverty.”
