Prince Clem Agba, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning has advised the Nigerian citizenry to only patronise made-in-Nigeria products.
In the course of a facility tour of the assembly plant of Jet Systems Automobile Industries Ltd located at Gbogije, along the Lekki-Epe Expressway in Lagos State, Agba who was accompanied by Taraba Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Hon Solomon Elisha alongside 25 other Commissioners of Budget and Economic Development across the country for the tour, maintained that it is time for Nigerians to ditch the mentality of thinking foreign products are superior in quality when compared to those made-in-Nigeria.
‘‘A journey of a thousand miles starts with a step and with what I see here and what is happening in other places across Nigeria, we only need publicity and encouragement so that Nigerians begin to accept made-in-Nigeria products because we tend to think products made outside the country are superior and that mindset has to change,” the minister stated.
Speaking further, Agba sought a revolution in the manufacturing industry, where a paradigm shift would see a switch from primary production to the creation of value-adding goods to help improve foreign earnings (FX) in the country.
Impressed by the Jet Systems Automobile Industries’ facility, Agba stated that in spite of the non-implementation of the National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP) of 2014 which discourages the importation of fully built vehicles in Nigeria and encourages local assemblers, the automobile industry is still thriving.
‘‘The present administration encourages local production and if it didn’t mean anything to the government, I wouldn’t be here. I am not just alone as the Minister, I am here with 25 Commissioners of Budget and Economic Development in the country. That should tell you what this means to the government; of course when you have a policy, it takes time for implementation.
‘‘It is not automatic, it is just like a marriage, the couple does not give birth to a child on the same day they are married. It is a process, and things have to be done in the proper way. There are certain challenges as a country, we are going through especially with dwindling revenue coming from the oil sector where we get a large portion of the foreign exchange that we get as a country.
‘‘The National Development Plan of the present administration speaks to quite a number of things that need to be done so that as a country, we go away from primary production of commodities into value-adding products. T
hat means producing commodities with high complexities so that we can begin to export and earn dollars. It is when we continue to export and earn foreign exchange as a country that we will have money to give to businesses to invest, especially those who are seeking FX,” he explained.
