President Muhammadu Buhari said yesterday that his administration is committed to achieving rapid diversification of the nation’s economy in the shortest possible time.

He spoke at a farewell audience with the outgoing Iranian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Saeed Koozechi, at the State House, Abuja.

Buhari said he was convinced that with greater diligence, hard work and patriotic determination to achieve self-sufficiency, Nigeria can produce most of the items on its import list.

The President, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said: “We made a terrible mistake by becoming a mono-product economy hinged on oil and we are now in a volatile situation, due to the crash in oil prices.

“We have seen the benefits of diversification which helped Iran to survive many years of sanctions and still come out strong.

“We are now fully committed to economic diversification. Most of the things on our import bills can be produced here. And we are determined to achieve that self-dependency,” Buhari told the outgoing envoy.

At a separate audience with the outgoing Chinese Ambassador, Mr. Gu Xiaojie, the President gave an assurance that the Federal Government would continue to do its best to meet its obligations under bilateral agreements with China for the development of critical infrastructure in Nigeria.

He added that because of their importance to Nigeria, his administration would uphold contractual agreements with Chinese companies for the development of essential infrastructure, which it inherited from past administrations, and would work to ensure that the projects were speedily completed.

The President reiterated his commitment to the completion of the Mambilla Power Project which, he said, was of great strategic importance to his government’s efforts to ensure that Nigeria does not become over-reliant on gas-powered electricity generation.

Buhari hailed the outgoing ambassadors for their efforts to strengthen bilateral relations between Nigeria and their countries during their tenure in Abuja.

He wished them well in their future endeavours.