Ministry budgets N9.7bn for export expansion grant programme in 2018

THE Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment Dr Okechukwu Enelamah on Monday disclosed that the resuscitation of the Export Expansion Grant programme of the ministry would gulp about N9.75billion in its proposed 2018 budget.

The minister also disclosed that the ministry generated about N730 million in the year 2017 as against the projected revenue of about N812 million.

The generated sum he said had been remitted into the federation account.

The minister spoke during the presentation of 2017 budget performance and 2018 proposal of the ministry before the House of Representatives Committee on Industry chaired by Honourable Hussein Moriki.

The minister said that government decided to resuscitate the programme halted by the previous Administration, due to its key role in Market access facilitation.

According to him, the bulk of the fund would be expended on driving new export initiatives, adding that separate plans are in the offing to clear the backlog of commitments accruing from a similar but stalled programme of the previous administration.

The Minister announced a total 2018 budget of about N26 billion for the ministry, out of which capital accounted for N23.3billion, overhead N722.8million and personnel cost gulped N2.1billion.

He noted that “since the sector falls within the Economy Branch of the FG’s three key thematic areas of national rebirth of Anti-corruption, Economy and Security, it would require the support of the legislature to make it realizable”.

The Chairman of the committee, Honourable Moriki, however, advised the ministry to carry the committee along in its working process adding that “The ministry, sector and in fact the nation stands to gain a lot if both work in synergy for the much needed industrial revolution in the country”.

He also charged the ministry to collate key industrial policies and forward them to the National Assembly to be passed into laws in order to avoid policy-summersaults.