President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday explained that his government took loans in the interest of Nigeria to solve dire shortfall in infrastructure.

He spoke at a virtual meeting with members of Presidential Economic Advisory Council at the State House, in Abuja.

He said the country must fix its roads to save lives from soaring road accidents.

Buhari said: “We have so many challenges with infrastructure.

“We just have to take loans to do roads, rail and power, so that investors will find us attractive and come here to put their money.”

He decried the failure to provide the infrastructure for effective transportation deprived the country of its well-deserved status as the West African hub for Air cargo transportation and trans-shipment of goods.

He noted the challenges posed by the “collapse of the oil market” and the decision of government to abide by the reduced oil production quota allocated by Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

“We’ve to accept that decision; otherwise they (Middle-East producers) can flood the market and make the product unviable.

“So, we’ve cooperated with what we get.

“With oil, we’re in a difficult situation.

“The politics of oil is that the less you produce, the less you earn.

“For us to bounce back to productivity, especially in agriculture, the unemployed with many of them uneducated had to be persuaded to go into agriculture.”

Daily Trust