Nigeria Has No Business Being Poor – Vice President Shettima

Vice President Kashim Shettima has declared that Nigeria has no justification for remaining poor, given its vast natural resources and untapped economic potential.

Shettima made the remarks on Wednesday while delivering the keynote address at the Agric, Development and Investment Summit held in Abuja.

He emphasised that with proper harnessing of its resources, Nigeria could become one of the wealthiest nations globally.Citing Indonesia as a model, the Vice President noted how the Southeast Asian country has leveraged its oil palm industry for massive revenue generation.

“Indonesia is an oil-producing nation, but in 2025 it earned 25 billion dollars from 53 million tons of crude palm oil while exporting only 32 million tons. Its revenue exceeded Nigeria’s oil revenue with just about 50 per cent of what Indonesia earned from oil palm exports,” Shettima said.

He also drew attention to the immense opportunities in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, describing it as the world’s third-largest delta with huge potential for mariculture, including fish farming of species such as salmon, tuna, and lobsters.

“The Niger Delta is the third largest delta in the world, and what do people in mariculture do? Fish farming like salmon, tuna, lobsters, and the Delta is endowed with those resources,” he added.

Shettima expressed confidence that effective development of the country’s agricultural and marine resources would significantly transform the economy and improve citizens’ livelihoods.

“In this great nation of ours, we have no business being poor. We have the potential to be one of the richest countries in the world. There are certain parts of this country where money can grow; you can plant money and harvest tremendous money resources,” he stated.

The Vice President’s comments come as the government continues to push for diversification beyond oil through agriculture and other sectors.

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