Vice President Kashim Shettima has said Nigeria and the African continent are at the World Economic Forum 2024 in Davos, Switzerland to deal with the West on an equal beneficial terms, not to beg.
Speaking Thursday in an exclusive interview with Arise TV, Shettima said, “We are not a poor nation by any standard, we’re not a poor continent.”
The vice President said: “We do not come to the West begging; we want to deal with them on mutually beneficial terms because ours is the richest continent in the world.
“We are poised to take advantage of the digital revolution. We are in a unique position, digitally equipped. We can really take advantage of the digital revolution and occupy our rightful place in the committee of nations.”
He expressed happiness with the outpouring of support by the global business community.
He said the global business community was thrilled with the policy direction of the federal government which culminated in fuel subsidy removal, collapse of multiple taxation and the foreign exchange regimes initiated by the President Bola Tinubu-led government..
Shettima said: “We do not come to the West with a begging bowl. No, we want to deal with them on mutually beneficial terms because ours is the richest continent in the world. The whole countries of Europe, their resources are not up to the resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“This is why I said we carry our poverty with dignity. We are not here to beg. Wherever we go, we go to have mutually beneficial relationships with Western nations and Western entities”.
On the policy direction, investment climate and potential investors in Nigeria, he affirmed that the global investment community was thrilled with steps taken by government to reengineer the nation’s economy.
“Our presence was well received, especially in the light of some far reaching decisions taken by the present administration towards repositioning the economy.
“Oil subsidy for successive administrations had been an albatross around our neck. The president summoned the political willpower to remove the oil subsidy.
“And we know the consequences of unveiling a masquerade. There’s a huge cabal that were packed on the oil subsidies camp”, he said.
He also said, “Look at the multiple exchange rate regimes that provided room for elective, shady practices. We collapsed the multiple exchange rates, the multiple taxation.”
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