THE Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Chief Niyi Adebayo, has reassured Nigerians that the Federal Government is working assiduously to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 lockdown.
He said this was being done through sustainable production, transportation and distribution of essential items such as food, medical, pharmaceutical and agro-allied products.
The minister stated this at his weekly update on the performance of the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) of the Committee on Sustainable Production and Delivery of Essential Commodities During COVID-19 in Abuja.
Adebayo said despite initial challenges faced as a result of inter-state boundary closure by some state governors, the ministry was constantly engaging relevant stakeholders to ensure free flow of essential cargoes within the country and at the ports of arrival.
“I am happy to announce that we have also set up a Post-COVID-19, Industry, Trade and Investment Sustainability Committee that will review the ministry’s goals and propose strategic adjustments after applying lessons learnt and recommendations from the COVID-19 outbreak,” Adebayo said.
He said in line with the directive by President Muhammadu Buhari in a national broadcast and to ensure that the economy adapts to this new reality, “my ministry will be collaborating with the Communications and Digital Economy Ministry, the Science and Technology Ministry, the Ministry of Transportation and Aviation, the Ministry of Interior, Health, Works and Housing, Labour and Employment, as well as Education, to jointly develop a comprehensive policy for a Nigerian economy functioning with COVID-19.
“This committee, as directed by Mr. President, will be supported by the Presidential Economic Advisory Council and the Economic Sustainability Committee in executing its mandate,” he said.
The minister applauded the efforts of the committee members for their prompt response in resolving incidence that would hinder the free flow of essential commodities.
According to him, the committee has not only done very well in representing the ministry, it has also been proactive in projecting the ministry as well as representing it at the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 .
The minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Ambassador Mariam Yalwaji Katagum, also noted that as an offshoot of the Committee on Sustainable Production and Delivery of Essential Commodities (SPEC), the ministry established an Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) to monitor the supply of essential commodities nationwide.
She added that the centre, which is housed at the Federal of Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, monitors the live status of transportation and delivery of essential goods to cut down on the difficulties being faced by manufacturers, transporters and distributors of essential commodities across the country.
Katagum added: “The committee has received a total number of 55 requests for intervention across the country, 54 of which have been resolved at the level of the committee.
“About 68 per cent of these interventions are logistics related, and about 20 per cent of the interventions are market Intelligence issues where we have been able to pair supply and demand to keep production afloat. Other requests had to do with direct manufacturing operations and some requests were retail related.”
She implored Nigerians to be resilient and remain calm and positive as the government tackles the unprecedented pandemic, assuring that the ministry in collaboration with all the critical stakeholders would continue to ensure that the impact of this on the economy and on households across the country is significantly reduced.
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