Buhari on fuel – We made a terrible mistake

According to a statement issued by Femi
Adesina , the President’s spokesman on
Wednesday, May 25, Buhari stated this in
his farewell message to the outgoing
Iranian ambassador, Saeed Koozechi .
“We
made a terrible mistake by becoming a mono-
product economy hinged on oil and we are now in
a volatile situation, due to the crash in oil prices,”
he said.
“We have seen the benefits of diversification which
helped Iran to survive many years of sanctions and
still come out strong. We are now fully committed
to economic diversification.
“Most of the things on our import bills can be
produced here. And we are determined to achieve
that self-dependency,” the President said.

At a separate audience with the outgoing
Chinese ambassador, Gu Xiaojie, Buhari gave
an assurance that the federal government
would strive to meet its obligations under
bilateral agreements with China for the
development of critical infrastructure in
Nigeria.
He said the administration would uphold
contractual agreements with Chinese
companies for the development of essential
infrastructure which it inherited from past
administrations, saying the projects would
be speedily completed.
The President also stressed his commitment
to the completion of the Mambilla Power
Project which, he said, is of great strategic
importance to his government’s efforts to
ensure that Nigeria does not become over-
reliant on gas-powered electricity
generation.