‘World leaders want to do business with Nigeria’

The Minister of Information and Culture Alhaji Lai Mohammed says Nigeria is getting global attention because of the incorruptible leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Minister stated this on Sunday when he appeared as guest on a Nigeria Television Authority programme, “Stepping Up”.

“What we have witnessed recently have shown beyond doubt that Nigeria is today an investors’ destination.

“Last week we received British Prime Minister, Theresa May. During the visit,   several bilateral agreements were signed.

“Friday of same week,  we received German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. Several bilateral agreements were also signed

“The global leaders are coming to Nigeria because this government is providing good leadership in the areas of security and infrastructure.

“The perception globally about the government is that it is providing an incorruptible leadership,  a government that you can do business with, without fear.”

“In one year alone, we climbed 24 steps in the ladder of ease of doing business.

“These are all the things they have seen that are attracting them to cone to partner and invest”.

The minister said the three cardinal goals  driving the administration’s success were, “focus, discipline and integrity”

“We did not invent the Treasury Single Account (TSA), but we are the administration that is disciplined enough to ensure that all proceeds of government go into the TSA.

“This has helped a lot. Before now, funds belonging to government were in thousands of bank accounts and the result was that we were paying a lot of bank charges on the accounts .

“Under the old system, the government could not  have wholistic idea of how much fund it had, which hampered planning.

“Today, every penny of government is being paid into TSA. This has helped a lot,” he said.

The minister recalled that the administration at inception suffered massively from the drop in oil prices.

He said with discipline,  focus and integrity,  the administration was able to bring out the nation from recession.

Mohammed said he subscribed to the directive by the APC national executive committee that the process for selecting the party’s  presidential candidate should be by direct primaries.

He said the direct primaries would allow all members  of the party in all nooks and crannies of the country the right to choose their leader.

Mohammed noted that there had been a lot of hype on the gale of defection particularly as it concerned, his home state, Kwara.

“Yes, we lost some people who left with the Senate President, Bukola Saraki,  like the state governor and 23 of the 24 members of House of Assembly.

“But the good news is that APC had gained massively. Many PDP members who could not stand in the same party with Saraki are defecting to APC.

“The most important thing is that the people of Kwara are very much with us and I am confident that come 2019, we will win massively in Kwara state,” he said.

On fake news phenomenon, the minister said it is a global epidemic that “is not abating at all and our own resolve to confront it is also not abating”

He reiterated the government resolve not to coerce or censor but to continue with advocacy and depend on the conscience of media practitioners.(NAN)