President Muhammadu Buhari has assured the business community in Qatar that Nigeria would remove any negative policy or taximpediment that can hinder their investment in the country.

Speaking at a meeting with senior executives of Qatar Chamber of Commerce and some private businessmen in Doha on Sunday, the President also said security is essential to prosperity and development.

In a statement issued by his special adviser media, Femi Adesina, the president said: “Nobody invests without first knowing how secure a country is. That is why we have placed high premium on securing the country, because you cannot effectively manage a country you have not secured.

“My party campaigned on three main planks: security, employment generation and anti-corruption.

“We campaigned on zero corruption, promising that we would run an accountable government and we are keeping our promises.”

Speaking on behalf of the Qatari businessmen, vice chairman of Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Muhammed Bin Ahmed Bin Towar Al Kuwari, said they would be interested in the finance, oil and gas, telecommunications, tourism, agriculture and food processing sectors, among others.

“All eyes are on Africa in the next decade. Africa is the next place for growth, the rest of the world is looking towards the continent, and Nigeria is an important part of that continent,” he said.

…N5000 Stipend For Poor Citizens Still Stands, Presidency Insists

Following widely published statements credited to President Buhari that the FG would no longer pay N5000 stipends to the economically vulnerable, the Presidency, on Monday said it would still fulfill the promise.

The senior special assistant to the vice president, Laolu Akande, yesterday in Abuja said the 2016 Budget submitted to the National Assembly has made an an allocation of half a trillion naira for social investment.