UK Commends Nigeria’s Economic Reforms
By Bukar BOLORI
Insists Though Reforms Have Brought Hardship But Necessary for Future Growth and StabilityThe United Kingdom has commended Nigeria’s Economic reforms being carried out by the President Bola Tinubu administration.
The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery gave the commendation at a press conference on UK-Nigeria trade on Wednesday in Abuja.
Montgomery said though the reforms have brought high inflation and hardship but they are necessary for future growth ànd stability of the country.
He said: “President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms are working, and they have made Nigeria more investible.
“The Naira is now more stable and more predictable. And the last quarter Nigerian economy has grown by 4%.”
He also noted that the UK is also carrying out economic reforms that will be beneficial to Nigeria because they will make business investment’s more predictable, simplify regulations of doing business.
“We also have reforms in the UK economy and we are working on how they can benefit Nigeria.”
The Director General, Presidential Enabling Business Council (PENEC), Princess Zahrah Mustapha Audu, on her part said the Naira is now more stable and it’s good for investors.
She said: “This conversation is about investment and trade; to me the Naira is more stable because it’s more predictable and prior to my appointment as DG , I use to work with the president on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), as a technical adviser and I can tell you; one o the key things that investors look for is stability, predictability . People invest in Afghanistan not because it’s better than Nigeria,. It was a war zone but because it was predictable.
“And that is what President Tinubu has created in Nigeria. There is predictability, we no longer have that market window where we had people who were simply trading the Naira. And that have been eradicated.”
Speaking further, she said: “What we’ve done now is that we have stopped the ability for agencies or departments or ministries to come up with new new policies. It must go through all the stakeholders’ engagement. It must go through all the assessments to make sure that the positives far outweigh the adverse reactions of the businesses.
“We are also doing everything possible to grow our local economy.” She added.
The British Country Director, Department of Business and Trade, Mark Smithson, disclosed that UK-Nigeria trade volume is £7.2 billion.
“UK/Nigeria trade volume is £7.2N and the UK has approved zero tariff on 3000 exports from Nigeria, which includes: cocoa, cashew nuts, tomatoes and others.”
