MOST Nigerians say the only way
out of this recession is to increase our non-oil exports. The Nigerian Export
Promotion Council (NEPC) headed by Mr. Segun Awolowo, recently unfolded a Zero
Oil Plan which it claimed has the potential of increasing non-oil export
earnings to $30 billion over the next five years, adding that eleven strategic
products for the export drive had been identified. We have heard this since the
NEPC was established to replace the more productive Marketing Boards of the old
Eastern, Northern and Western Regions. They expanded Nigeria’s non-oil exports
base, but it went down under the NEPC. Federal government officials have been
singularly responsible for our failure to promote non-oil exports. A recent
report by the President of the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce, Chief
Olabintan Famutimi, after attending the African Growth and Opportunities Act
(AGOA) meeting told volumes about Nigeria’s lack of seriousness on non-oil
export promotion. AGOA was designed to assist African countries to increase
their exports to the US. According to Famutimi: “All Ministers from Africa
responsible for managing AGOA were there…Nigeria was not represented, more or
less because the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investments, was not there;
his Permanent Secretary was there. Mr. Segun Awolowo of NEPC was there. But
when it was time for Nigeria to speak, it was the Minister of Labour and
Employment (Dr Chris Ngige) who spoke.” Ngige had no prepared speech!
Read more at:
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/10/nigeria-unserious-non-oil-exports/
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