Nigeria: The Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan, has said that the private sector is crucial in the drive by the government to diversify the economy. He said that Nigeria was currently 'over dependent' on oil. Jonathon used the official launch of the 1.65Mt/yr Lafarge WAPCO Lakatabu cement plant of Lafarge WAPCO in Ewekoro in Ogun State to highlight the importance of the cement industry in a more diverse Nigerian economy. The plant will take the company's cement production to 2.5Mt/yr in Nigeria.
The president described the cement industry as critical to his administration's drive toward moving the country away from a mono-cultural economy, critical to national survival. "If we do not discover oil reserves, our reserves will dry up; if that is true, we know that as a nation, we must prepare for our children and grandchildren," said Jonathon. "That is why we must diversify. That's why we must encourage our private sector to go into manufacturing."
The Chairman of Lafarge WAPCO, Chief Olusegun Osunkeye, said that the new plant will provide 1000 jobs and it would not relent in partnering with the government in its quest for socio-economic development.
