The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has hailed the newly introduced Nigeria First policy of President Bola Tinubu as the vehicle that will drive Nigeria back to industrialisation.
Tunji-Ojo stated this on Thursday during Channels Television’s Youth Forum, a live interactive programme.
According to him, indigenous manufacturers will find it difficult to compete with their foreign counterparts without the policy being put in place by the government.
“Two things that make me happy about being part of this administration. One is the issue of Nigeria First because that is the real way back for industrialisation,” the Minister said on the programme.
“If you do not have that as a policy, there is no way that indigenous manufacturers will compete with people coming from China where there is cheaper labour, and electricity.
“So, for us to be able to protect the local industry, Nigeria First, that shows a president who is looking inwards and looking towards backward integration.”
Tunji-Ojo added that the second crucial policy of the Tinubu administration is the Naira for Crude policy, which he said has helped stabilise the price of petrol in Nigeria.
“Number is the issue of naira for crude. For the first time you can see that Dangote Refinery and whatever, the prices of refined fuel are coming down despite the fact that it is increasing in the international market.
“Why? Today we are no longer depending on the issue of foreign exchange. And that is the reason you have seen the naira being stable for some time now, ₦1,500 or ₦1,600,” he said.
Earlier this month, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a Nigeria First economic policy targeted at prioritising the use of locally manufactured goods and services in all government procurement.
Announcing the policy after the FEC meeting in Abuja on May 5, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the policy means Nigeria comes first in all procurement processes.
Tunji-Ojo said that it is unfortunate that President Tinubu is left to make decisions that should have been taken decades ago by Nigeria’s past leaders.
He, however, said that though it might have been late, it was necessary to save the country from collapsing economically.
