The federal government has suspended the issuance of licences for the operation of free trade zones (FTZs) in the country. This was disclosed by the minister of industry, trade, and investment, Niyi Adebayo.
The minister made the disclosure at the inauguration of a panel created to assess the performance of FTZs.
According to the minister’s spokesman, Ifedayo Sayo, the suspension of the issuance of licences will last for the duration of the panel’s evaluation exercise.
“It is important to note that FTZs in most developed countries have contributed successfully to their industrialisation process,” he said.
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“The model was adopted by the Asian Tigers and today, most countries, including African countries, are beginning to key into the idea.
“Nigeria, through the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI), has begun delivery of world-class FTZs across the country.
“However, due to poor implementation, we have yet to take delivery of the dynamic potentials of FTZs as an instrument for economic growth.”
The trade minister lamented that despite having 33 licensed FTZ operators in the country, only 12 are operational due to poor implementation.
“Currently the performance of FTZs licensees has been below expectation and this heavily impacts our ability to deliver on crucial priority areas of the government,” Adebayo said.
“FTZs are key to the nation’s push towards industrialisation and will have a significant impact on Nigeria’s trade and economic fortunes which is greatly required given the current economic challenges.
“Globally, FTZs account for 68 million jobs and generate USD 500 billion annually.
“The sector can be extremely lucrative if executed efficiently and we must aim to improve the operation of our zones.”
