President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday tasked the private sector operators to take the lead in the efforts at resuscitating the nation’s ailing economy saying they hold the key to quick economic recovery.

The president, who spoke at the 44th Annual General Meeting of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), held in Abuja and attended by lawmakers and members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS), enjoined the private sector to work with the federal government towards taking the country out of recession.

Noting that the government would rely heavily on the input of the private sector in its economic policy, he extolled the contributions of Aliko Dangote and other manufacturers. He said the private sector was indispensable in the development of the Nigerian economy.
President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, urged the federal government to expand the tax base rather than increasing the tax rate as currently being advised.

“The crux of our problem is therefore the depth and quality of diversification. To be impactful, diversification in Nigeria has to occur across several fronts,there is export diversification, which involves creating multiple streams of foreign exchange income by exporting a variety of value added products (as well as services).  Next is fiscal diversification to shore up the contribution of non-oil revenue to total government revenue by increasing tax receipts. The emphasis should however be on expanding the tax base rather than increasing the tax rate,” Dangote said.

Insisting that diversification was key to the growth and development of the economy, Dangote added, “Diversification is no longer an option, it has now become the only hope. Diversifying the Nigerian economy can sometimes be misconstrued to mean neglecting the oil & gas sector. On the contrary, the oil & gas sector needs to be deepened and expanded to enable us unlock the full benefits in the hydrocarbon value chain.
“Even though diversification of the economy has to be private sector driven, government has a huge role to play in creating a conducive climate for businesses to thrive.”