President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday told the founder and chief executive of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Mr. Klaus Schwab that Nigerian economy was being restructured by reducing control in many sectors.
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Jonathan explained that the strategy for creating more sources of income and strengthen the economic power of Nigerians and called for assistance from the forum.
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“We are working hard to create more sources of income for Nigerians, to raise the living standards and reduce the migration of Nigerians to other countries, and for this, you need a lot of resources”, he stated.
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President Jonathan who spoke during one of his numerous meetings and consultations in New York,? during the 66th United Nations General Assembly said the economic management team had been carefully constituted to provide a very wide range of advice from both public and private sector perspectives to further propel the growth of the economy. ?
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He said that the bid by WEF to hold its 2014 Summit on Africa in Nigeria as well as Mr. Schwab’s proposal to consult with the minister of finance and set up an informal working group to attract foreign direct investment to Nigeria was a welcome development.
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Schwab had earlier told Jonathan that Nigeria was an important nation that must be supported to rapidly develop and attain its potentials.
He said WEF was looking forward to President Jonathan’s participation at the Forum in Davos, during which major global economic decisions would be taken, including a proposal for the setting up of an informal group to work towards attracting investments into Nigeria.
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Meanwhile, President Jonathan has said his administration is working hard to encourage private sector investments into Nigeria, adding that there are many opportunities for investors in the country.
He was speaking to Mr. Daniel Roberts, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer of Merchants Bank of California, who is exploring investment opportunities in Nigeria.
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Jonathan observed that since Nigeria’s local banks alone could not support the projected expenditure of $20bn over the next four years, Mr. Roberts’ investments would be absorbed in the country’s.
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Roberts had told the President that his company had a $1bn line of credit for investments in the oil sector, and was prepared to explore other sectors of the economy.
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