The National Economic Council (NEC), Nigerias economic advisory body, today

commenced a two-day retreat in Abuja, in a bid to find solutions to various

economic challenges facing the country.
In an address to the retreat, Present Muhammadu Buhari highlighted four key areas
requiring attention, namely, agriculture, power, manufacturing and housing.
The president acknowledged the importance of agriculture, stressing, Our real
wealth is in farming. He directed the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to collaborate
with the states and identify the problems, with a view to finding solutions, while also
directing the Central Bank of Nigeria to assist in financing agricultural projects.
Going down memory lane, the president recalled, when I was a schoolboy in the
1950s, the country produced one million tons of groundnuts in two successive
years. He expressed the hope that with better tools and technology today, the
country would succeed.
On power, the president said the situation was no longer a laughing matter. We
must and by the grace of God we will put things right, he emphasized, adding that
by the end of his administration in three years time, the country would generate
10,000MW.
On manufacturing, President Buhari identified problems of power, roads, insecurity
and high cost of borrowing. As a measure to boost patronage for made-in-Nigeria
goods, the President directed that all uniforms in government-sponsored institutions
should be sourced from local factories.
He directed the retreat to find solutions to the housing deficit in the country.
Nigerians travel abroad, spending an estimated one billion US dollars annually for
medical treatment, the president lamented. He regretted that despite huge oil
revenues, the nations health sector remained undeveloped.
He therefore urged the retreat to come up with practical solutions and
recommendations to chart e new course for the country.