FG to stop unnecessary importation ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To boost diversification of the economy, President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday night said that he has directed the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment to work with other relevant ministries and agencies towards increasing local production of goods and services in order to substitute unnecessary imports. He ordered them to execute a comprehensive investment and trade agenda. The President gave the directives at the first Presidential Dinner for Top 100 Businesses in Nigeria, held at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja. According to him, the falling price of oil at the international market was a strong signal that the country could no longer rely on one commodity as a foreign exchange earner. He said: “We can no longer continue to export raw materials. We must produce what we consume and consume what we produce. We must diversify our economy, even though we know no one nation is an island. “In pursuit of this noble objective, I have directed the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment to work with the Central Bank of Nigeria in execution of a comprehensive investment and trade agenda to create local production to substitute unnecessary imports with our local goods. “This is to ensure our country becomes self-reliant and to cut down on imports which drain foreign exchange. This is a game changer because it will re-position us globally and rapidly boost our foreign reserves. “The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the CBN are already working with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to cut down import of petroleum products. “They are also working with the Ministry of Agriculture to cut down import of food products, and with the Ministry of Mines and Steel to cut down imports of metal related products. “This will be one of our boldest initiatives to finally make our country self-sufficient. “I’m confident that if we are able to produce in Nigeria most of what we consume today, the bulk of investments required to make this happen will surely come from the top 100 companies.”
Posted on: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 04:29:14 +0000
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