The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, WTO, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said Nigeria needs to continue diversifying to attract investment and boost trade surplus.

Okonjo-Iweala stated this while addressing newsmen after a meeting with the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and other women at the Nigerian Women in Leadership event in Abuja weekend.

Nigeria recorded N1.41 trillion trade deficit between October and December of 2023, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS.

Within the period, Nigeria’s exports totalled N12.69 trillion, and total imports stood at N14.11 trillion — giving a trade deficit of N1.41 trillion.

Okonjo-Iweala said Nigeria must do more to attract investment domestically and also from outside.

The WTO boss said the government must also “create the environment to attract investment”, adding that this would persuade them (the government) to invest in certain production and in different kinds of industries to attract people from outside.

She said: “If we are going to go into surplus, we also have to think of how to make use of the African continental free trade area because we have a large market here but 1.4 billion is an even larger market. Those are the things we have to do.”

Speaking on the challenges facing women, Okonjo-Iweala stressed the need for women to support themselves and improve their positions in the country.

She pointed out that women had continued to face many challenges while trying to become leaders.
Okonjo-Iweala said it was imperative to increase the percentage of women in leadership positions, both at the state and federal government levels.

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“How do we improve the position of women in the country? We have a very low percentage of women in the National Assembly. We have never had a woman governor, let alone something higher.

“That has to change but no one will hand it to the women. Women have to fight for it, but the men also have to support it because you cannot have 50 per cent of your population not participating.

“So, these were some of the issues we discussed today and we have to proffer solutions on how women could deal with the challenges of leadership.

“Most of the women in the room here are already leaders; they are not even struggling to get to the top as they are already there,’’ she noted.

Tinubu’s reforms bearing fruits, says Bagudu

President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms have started bearing fruits, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, has said.

He pointed out that the measures have restored faith in the country’s economy.

“The reforms have restored confidence in the economy,” the minister told the Nigerian Television Authority in an interview monitored at the weekend, explaining that foreign investors have renewed interest in Nigeria.

He said though the removal of petrol subsidy had caused some pain, the policy had increased the quantum of funds available to the three tiers of government to invest in critical infrastructure that will regenerate the economy, adding that before 29 May 2023, finances of the government were fragile.

“The payment of subsidies affected the quantum of revenue available to all the layers of government so much that the economy was at a standstill.

“The reform measures that were taken were in tandem with the Renewed Hope Agenda and the eight priority areas of the Tinubu administration to regenerate confidence in the economy and provide resources to invest in the productive sector,’’ the minister said.

While noting that both objectives of the reforms had been achieved, the minister pointed out that government at all levels – federal, state, and local government – had acquired more capacity to support the economy.

He said: “The FG has expanded social investment support to ensure that those who are at the lower end of the income strata of the society, who are affected by the reforms are helped to cope.

“All the sectors that will enable the gains to be achieved, including Agriculture, Infrastructure, and security have seen more funding. Sectors that investing in them will secure our future like education, health, and social investment have received not only increased budgetary allocation but also speedy implementation.”

Bagudu explained that programmes were also introduced to support the sectors so that manufacturing activities could resume, and agricultural activity better supported on a more sustainable basis.

He said part of the steps taken to boost employment was the provision of mortgage funds to regenerate the mortgage sector so that activities in the sector could increase.

He commended the collaboration between the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, to rein in currency speculators and manipulators and observed that it had shored up the value of the national currency.

The minister pleaded with Nigerians to persevere, saying the president had persistently empathised with them.
“We must take note that President Tinubu has empathised with the people and assured them that the reforms were not intended to inflict pain on them but that they were necessary measures to reposition the economy,’’ he said.

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