President Muhammadu Buhari has assured foreigners doing business in Nigeria that there will be a safe, secure and prosperous country.
At a meeting yesterday in Madrid, Spain, with executives of two Spanish companies doing business in Nigeria, including GB Foods, which grows tomatoes in Kebbi State and employs about 5,000 people, he pledged that the entire country would be secured, noting that it is one of the cardinal objectives of the administration.
According to a statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser (Media and Publicity), Femi Adesina, Buhari also assured protection for local farmers against smuggling and dumping of foreign products.
The Chairman of GB Foods, Artur Carulla, described the company as a family business now in its third generation in Africa, and which has invested over 250 billion dollars in countries like Nigeria, Algeria, Ghana and Senegal, and promised to ‘double-down in Nigeria’.
The company pledged that in about two years, it would be en route to supplying 30% of the nation’s tomato needs, stressing: “We will replicate what has happened with rice. We knew what it was before you came”.
At another meeting with a leading Spanish gas company, Naturgy, the President expressed pleasure that the outfit has established a steady partnership with Nigeria in the oil and gas industry.
The Chief Executive Officer of Naturgy, Francisco Reynes, said its first contact with Nigeria was in 1992, and since then, they have become one of the largest buyers of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG).
He added that Naturgy was interested in extending its relationship with Nigeria on gas, citing its 178 years of experience in the business. “Countries like Algeria, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, and the USA, are our suppliers. We want to invest more in Nigeria”, Reynes stated.
The President also met with Nigerians living in Spain on the sidelines of his official visit, pledging that Nigeria will continue to defend the interests of its nationals living abroad.
President Buhari, whom Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) describes as “the most Diaspora-loving President” further explained why he established the Commission.
The President also touched on the many challenges facing the country, assuring that the government would not rest on its oars in surmounting them.
Senior government officials with the President at the event, apart from Dabiri-Erewa, were Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, Youth and Sports, Sunday Dare, Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain, Ademola Seriki, and Special Assistant to the President on Sports, Daniel Amokachi.
