Tobi Soniyi in Abuja
The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday asked artisans to bear with the government, saying there was no quick fix for the economic challenges facing the country
The Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, in a statement said Osinbajo spoke when he paid an unscheduled visit to the Mpape artisans’ village, Abuja.
He explained that the vice-president told them that things were difficult because not much money was coming from oil.
He said the present administration was doing its best to reduce dependency on oil.
He said: “Now there are many people with jobs because we are beginning to produce rice, mill it locally and distribute.
“In the meantime, it will be expensive and when it is expensive, there will be suffering but that is the only way we are going to stop importing rice.’’
Osinbajo encouraged the artisans not to despair as government was focused on addressing key sectors that would improve the economy and create jobs for them and other Nigerians.
According to him, “we are trying to deal with the problem in the Niger Delta, address farming, industry and the economy so that this problem you are talking about will be fixed permanently.
He however told the artisans to brace up as there was no quick fix to the problems confronting the economy, stressing that “there is no country that can make progress without some pain’’.
He assured them that the Muhammadu Buhari government was addressing the issues on all fronts with the fight against corruption, stressing that “If you don’t fight corruption the money which we are trying to get, some persons will pocket it and that is all and there won’t be anything.’’
He solicited the support and cooperation of the artisans and other category of Nigerians to help revamp the economy for the progress of the nation, promising that the hardship currently experienced by Nigerians would soon be a thing of the past.
