Senator Bola Tinubu, the National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), says Nigerians need to be creative and innovative to develop the economy. He told newsmen in Ibadan on Sunday that the diversification of the nation's economy was always on the drawing board but had never been implemented.

“We keep talking about diversification of the economy. It is always on the drawing board. We never implemented it.

“There are so many ways to create and revitalise this economy; it is not as bad into the future as people make it appear.

“The past is nauseating, terrible. There has never been any principle of good governance in the past. It has been cesspool of corruption.”

The former Lagos State governor said that Nigerians needed to support and encourage the present administration in its campaign against insurgency and kidnap.

“We face the challenge. We accept the need for the diversification of the nation’s economy. “There are a lot of variables in the oil sector which we have to look at critically.

“We are not the only country that is affected by the effect of this oil crisis. We have to be more creative in a way that will not hurt the welfare of the people.”

“We need to look inwardly. There are so many ways and we are blessed to really create local demand, improve our disposable income and manage our own economy.

“We have the resources, people and the blessing of both weather and mineral resources but it will take time.

“There is a gestation, rearrangement and reengineering necessary for the economy to be beneficial to the people.

“We must be patient, we must persevere and the leadership must be creative in order to rejuvenate the economy. Just bear with us.”

Speaking on the influx of defectors into the APC, he said that there was the freedom principle which allow citizens to associate with any organisation or political party they want. Tinubu said that the builders of APC must be tolerant and understand the need to check intrusion of corruption and injustice into the party.

“You can’t stop that. You cannot discriminate against that. There is nothing we can do about that. "We cannot prevent people from coming in, the more the merrier, the better, the competitiveness.” (NAN)

•Photo shows Bola Tinubu.

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