The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, has said Nigerian elites are not happy with President Muhammadu Buhari.
Shehu was quoted saying this on Sunday in an interview on Pyramid Radio in Kano State.
He said the government was doing a lot to improve the lot of the ordinary people who the elite did not care for.
Shehu said, “Because the elite do not care for the ordinary people, they are saying that government is doing nothing. But we are doing a lot for the ordinary people.
“They don’t want us to talk about the 14 solar power projects that have been licensed to boost electricity supply in the country; the Mambila power project which will soon leave the drawing board and the many Chinese projects including the standard gauge railway.
“This country has more important things to talk about instead of dwelling on trivia.”
Shehu said the price of a bag of fertiliser had reduced from between N9,000 and N10,000 to N5,500.
He said only 58,000 tonnes of rice were imported in 2016 against 1.2 million tonnes of rice imported from Thailand in 2014.
“As a result of the country’s growing rice production, assisted by the decision of the government to deny foreign exchange through the Central Bank for the importation of rice, parboiled rice mills in some Asian countries are shutting down production because Nigeria, one of the world’s largest importers, is not buying.
“Five of such mills in Thailand servicing Nigeria have stopped production due to the withdrawal of our patronage.
“Currently, government is watching with keen interest the growing investment in rice milling by the private sector and will continue to give encouragement through the Ministry of Agriculture to such efforts by BUA Industries in Jigawa, Dangote in Kano, OLAM and WACOTT in Nasarawa and Kebbi and what a consortium of businessmen led by a former governor in Anambra State are doing.
“The increase in the volume of rice production and processing is already saving this country a lot of money,” he added.
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