Second Term: Buhari to take tough decisions

The Secretary to the Government of Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, has said the tough decisions President Muhammadu Buhari will take during his second term, will be in the interest of Nigeria.

Mustapha made this known in an interview with newsmen in Yola on Monday.

The SGF was reacting to fears expressed in some quarters following a statement by the president that his second term would be tough.

He said, “When we came to power in 2015, about 27 states couldn’t pay salaries; we had to take tough decisions like giving them bailout and Paris Club refund.

“These are tough decisions,” Mustapha said.

He also identified the ban on rice and fertilizer importation as one of the tough decisions taken by the government and which yielded positive results by boosting local production, among other things.

“By such tough decisions we are able to raise the number of rice farmers from 4 million to 12 million and we are about 98 per cent self-sufficient in rice.

“Due to the establishment of many fertilizer blending plants after we banned the importation of fertilizer, the product is now available and the prize is going down,” NAN quoted him as saying.