Nigeria’s over-reliance on oil revenue vulnerable to global market fluctuations – Speaker Abbas

By Ibraheem Hamza Muhammad, Abuja

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen has said that Nigeria’s over-reliance on oil revenue has left the country vulnerable to global market fluctuations, environmental degradation, and economic instability.

The Speaker made the statement when he delivered the 14th Convocation Lecture of the Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin.

He argued that “Nigeria’s over-reliance on oil revenue has left the country vulnerable to global market fluctuations, environmental degradation and economic instability.”

The lecture dwelled on ‘Beyond Oil: Exploring Alternative Revenue Potentials for Economic Growth and Sustainable Development in Nigeria.’

He contended that the situation was a great challenge to the consciousness of our political leaders, policymakers, technocrats, and academicians on the need for strategic thinking and urgent collective action.

Most importantly, the Speaker stressed the need for Nigeria to diversify the oil-dependent economy, and warned that a further delay poses more challenges ahead for the country.

He, therefore, called for deliberate and collective efforts by all stakeholders in the public and private sectors to chart a strategic way forward for the country economically.

Speaker Abbas listed the potential sectors for diversification in Nigeria to include agriculture, mining, manufacturing, industrialisation, ICT, digital economy, creative industries and tourism.