The British government has applauded the economic policies so far implemented by President Bola Tinubu, raising investors’ confidence in the country.
This was revealed during a meeting by Vice President Kashim Shettima and the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, at the State House in Abuja.
In an interview with State House correspondents, the British High Commissioner conveyed his satisfaction with the meeting, highlighting its focus on bolstering bilateral relations between the two nations, particularly in the realm of enhancing economic collaborations.
According to Montgomery, British ministers have shown a positive response to the policies implemented by President Bola Tinubu’s administration, including the removal of fuel subsidies and the unification of foreign exchange rates.
During the meeting, the British High Commissioner and Vice President Shettima deliberated on strategies to mitigate the impact of the initial policies initiated by President Tinubu, such as the oil subsidy removal.
Montgomery stated, “During my visit to London last week, I briefed my ministers and engaged with British businesses in the finance, banking, and investment sectors. They have responded very positively to these initial decisions.”
Acknowledging the challenging circumstances characterised by inflation and unemployment, he added, “The Vice President and I also discussed potential measures to alleviate some of these economic pressures.”
The British High Commissioner expressed confidence in the reforms undertaken by Nigeria’s new administration, which, he said, envisioned a brighter future for the country.
He emphasised that these reforms will not only propel Nigeria towards a higher trajectory but also attract more investments.
“The big issue is that these reforms help put Nigeria on a higher, greater path. They will attract more investments and the United Kingdom and the City of London see Nigeria as a big opportunity going forward,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Shettima has called for stronger relations between Nigeria and the United Kingdom (UK) given the long standing historical antecedents, business activities and shared interests between the two countries.
The vice president made the call yesterday during a courtesy visit to his office by the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Richard Montgomery, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The vice president commended the long standing assistance and support of the UK government to Nigeria and expressed hope for more robust business relations.
According to him, “I will urge you to facilitate the setting up of the Nigeria-UK Bi-national Commission; that Bi-national Commission can be the driver for accelerating enhanced business relationship between our two countries.
“We need to ramp up the trade between our two nations taking into cognizance our proximity. There is no nation that we are closer to than the UK and our trade represents less than five per cent of the volume of our import and export.”
Speaking on the issue of the economy, the vice president, in a statement by his media office, said, “Most definitely, we are going to create an enabling environment for businesses to flourish in this country.”
Shettima underscored the need for economic reforms in order to position the country’s economy for growth, especially the removal of fuel subsidy.
“This is just the beginning because it was fait accompli to withdraw the fuel subsidy. We either get rid of the fuel subsidy or the fuel subsidy will get rid of the Nigerian nation.
“In 2012, we spent $10bn on fuel subsidy alone. Last month, we were purportedly consuming 67 million litres per day, but after the removal of the subsidy it dropped to 41 million bpd, nearly 40 percent off. So the whole subsidy regime was opaque, ridden with a lot of inconsistency.”
Still on economic reforms, the vice president noted that the previous multiple exchange rate regime was riddled with a lot of corruption.
“So obviously, we have no option but to collapse the exchange rate regimes into one. In the coming weeks and months, we are going to make more pronouncements on how to reposition the Nigerian economy and make it vibrant for business.”
Emphasizing the role of the private sector in driving economic growth, the vice president cited the example of Lagos and said, “Lagos is booming fundamentally because of the private sector but not because of government; the government just created the avenue for businesses to thrive.”
On the efforts to find a lasting solution to the security challenges in the country, Shettima said there is the need for both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches towards addressing the problems.
“Unless we want to engage in an endless war of attrition, you have to find kinetic and non-kinetic solutions to our problems. Yes, we have to strengthen our security architecture, so that we can be in a stronger bargaining position with the insurrectionists, Boko Haram terrorists and kidnappers.”
He added that as part of the efforts of the Tinubu administration towards addressing on-going security problems, the government would soon roll out different socio-economic intervention programmes and initiatives in the North East and North West that will facilitate empowerment and social inclusion of the vulnerable groups in the regions.
Montgomery commended the new administration’s proactive economic policies, especially the reforms, just as he lauded the long standing relationship and cooperation with Nigeria especially in areas of trade and investment, security and defence, digital technology and education. He expressed the readiness of the UK government to partner closely with the federal government to achieve overall development of the country.
In the delegation of the British High Commissioner were the Deputy Development director, Susan Mshana; Counsellor, Lake Chad Basin, Alex Maclean; political counsellor, Jonathan Bacon and senior political advisor, Damilola Oyedele.
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