The future of the Nigerian economy is no longer dependent on oil, but production of goods for export, Senator Shehu Sani,, representing Kaduna State, has said.
Sani, who stated this during a visit with local investors to the Executive Director/CEO of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), in Abuja,, said individuals with entrepreneurial spirit should begin to think of what they can do by way of production and exportation so that government could assist them.
He said, “Nigerian entrepreneurs should gear towards producing and packing goods that will attract foreign currency. The key to Nigeria’s diversification is export.
“When we are going into the field of export, we are going into a very competitive field of political economy. As much as we are diversifying, we have to harness our potentials and use it to better the economy. NEPC is the brain box of the economy so we have to work closely with the council.”
NEPC’s Executive Director/ CEO, Segun Awolowo, said oil cannot drive the GDP because it accounts for only 10 per cent, saying that what will drive the economy effectively is agriculture which the government is seriously venturing into.
“For diversification to be effective, our products must be competitive enough to compete with other products in the international market and that is what we at the Council are working towards. We have to make agriculture work by paying more value to agricultural products.
“Agricultural products constitute the bulk of Nigeria’s non-oil exports. The shares of these products both processed and unprocessed in total value of non-oil export is as high as 70 per cent, “Awolowo said.
