$3b invested in 7 Sugar BIP projects, others ― Industry, Trade and Investment Minister

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3 years ago

The Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has declared that one of the key strategies it used in the implementation of its mandate is the Backward Integration Program aimed at the domestication of production of high-priority items.

The declaration was made by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Richard Adeniyi Adebayo at the opening ceremony of the council session of the 14th Meeting of the National Council on Industry, Trade & Investment held on Thursday in Bauchi at the Command Guest House.

According to him, these items include Sugar, Cassava Starch, Oil Palm, Dairy, Cotton Textiles & Garments (CTG) and Automobiles saying, “and I am glad to report that we have recorded progress in each of these commodities”.

The Minister added that “I am glad to report that progress has been made in these programs; over $3 billion has been invested in 7 Sugar BIP projects and 8 independent projects. In the Automotive sector, over $ 1 billion of investment has been recorded and we are ready to proceed to the next phase for the Automotive Industry; the review of the NAIDP is almost complete as the Plan is going through the Validation Process”.

According to him, “To further accelerate industrialisation, we are fast-tracking the establishment of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) across the country to increase the availability of infrastructure and provide fiscal incentives for value addition.”

He also said that “We have implemented various initiatives focused on creating the right environment for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to thrive. These include measures to ensure MSMEs have improved access to finance, enhanced market access, and reduction in operation cost”.

Adeniyi Adebayo also said that “The Federal Government has successfully disbursed about ₦785 billion through the Bank of Industry (BOI) to over ten million MSMEs from 2019 to July 2022. This was possible because BOI has further deepened its capital base to $5 billion with international partners like AFREXIM, and Credit Suisse, among others”.

“We have revised the MSME Policy to drive the growth and competitiveness of MSMEs in the country and successfully increased the nation’s capacity to fund tech-driven MSMEs, through our collaboration with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to secure the $500 million Technology Fund”, he added.

The Minister also said that “Furthermore, the MSME Survival Fund Initiative was launched in the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic as part of the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP), which protected MSMEs from the shock of the COVID-19 Pandemic. As of July 2022, ₦67.5 billion had been disbursed to over 1.2 million beneficiaries, thus protecting at-risk jobs and creating new ones”.

On creating an Enabling Business Environment to attract and retain investments, he said that “the Ministry, and the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council are committed to ensuring that we do not just attract investments, but that we attract and protect investments that genuinely benefit Nigeria and its citizens.”

According to him, “Building on this path, Nigeria has successfully revised its model Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT); to include a specific provision for investment facilitation that institutionalizes the principle of supporting investors to actualize their investments.”

“I am glad to inform you that, as part of our efforts in line with Executive Order 001 and promoting transparency in business, the Ministry has modernized and upgraded our One-Stop Investment Centre (OSIC), which speedily resolves investors’ problems by bringing them and the Government Agencies required into a “Laboratory” until the issue is resolved”, he added.

He expressed confidence that “The OSIC Lab will help us to drive practical policy reform, protect existing and prospective investments, encourage investments and create/protect jobs.”

The Minister also said that “Likewise, the repeal and re-enactment of the Companies and Allied Matters Act,1990 (CAPC20, LFN2004) CAMA 2020 provides a robust framework for reforming identified legal, regulatory and administrative drawbacks that have impacted doing business in Nigeria, over the years.”

According to him, “Nigeria signed the AfCFTA agreement on 7th July 2019 and deposited its instrument of ratification at the African Union Commission on 5th December 2020. Following this, we inaugurated the National Action Committee on AfCFTA (NAC) to coordinate relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies to drive AfCFTA readiness initiatives which will position Nigeria to benefit fully from the agreement”.

He further said, “The review of Nigeria’s trade policy is also being finalized; to ensure that the nation has better leverage before entering any trade agreement with any country. This will also position the country to facilitate trade and market access, especially by successfully participating in the AfCFTA.”

Other programmes geared towards Trade Facilitation and improved export market access include the Export Expansion Facility Programme (EEFP), established to facilitate foreign trade and create more jobs through various programs such as export finance, infrastructure, capacity development and market access.

The program has supported over 280 export-oriented businesses with grants, leading to the creation and saving of over 100,000 direct jobs and an additional 20,000 jobs for youths and women directly.

“I should also mention that the Federal Executive Council has approved the National Quality Infrastructure Program and established the Federal Produce Inspection Service (FPIS) as a separate agency that will help improve the quality of products manufactured for export in Nigeria”, he added.

The Minister said that “our initiatives and successes are too numerous to mention at this forum, but there is still a lot of grounds to cover. For example, the nation is looking to us to solve big problems such as the unemployment of almost 30 million people who are mostly youth.”

According to him, “Given the size of our challenges as a nation, we must design interventions to address the scale of the problems we need to solve; this will ensure we come up with creative/innovative ways to finance, implement and ultimately deliver transformative results.”

“We need to better take charge of the areas which form part of our mandate, irrespective of who else is implementing initiatives in such spaces. We must be better, stronger advocates, driving the actions of all stakeholders. We should also continue to aim for global best practices in policy development and implementation as our we compete for investments globally”, he added.

He concluded by saying, “We appreciate the cooperation we have received from various State Governments, some of which are present here today and we look forward to strengthening our partnership in delivering jobs and creating wealth for Nigerians.”

In his remarks, Bauchi State Governor, Sen Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir said that his administration had been initiating and implementing policies with the objectives of moving the economy of the state along the trajectory of the nation’s overall development aspirations.

He added that those policies were also in tandem with President Muhammadu Buhari’s aspiration to make sure that poverty was fought to the last level.

According to him, “I want to acknowledge the contribution of one of our own, Hajiya Mariam Katagum who represents us at the Federal Executive Council along with our brother, the Minister for Education, Malam Adamu Adamu.”

He also said that “We are in the opposition but we have no regret that we have them as our representatives. They have really brought representation to the level of competence that I am proud of.”

“I must thank Mr President for allowing them to always contribute. Bauchi state is a state of Buhari and Buhari is Bauchi state and that’s why even as a governor in the opposition I know the position of Mr President,” he said.

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