By ARMSTRONG ALLAHMAGANI, Bauchi –
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Richard Adebayo, has said that the Federal Government has invested over $3bn invested in seven sugar Backward Integration Programme (BIP) projects and eight independent projects across the country.
He stated this on Thursday at the Command Guest House, in his speech at the closing ceremony of the 14th Meeting of the National Council on Industry, Trade and Investment which had the theme: ‘Strengthening Industry, Trade and Investment Sector in Promoting Development in the Country.’
According to him, this was in pursuit of one of the key strategies used in the implementation of his Ministry’s mandate is the BIP, which is aimed at the domestication of production of high priority items.
He said that the items include sugar, cassava starch, oil palm, dairy, cotton textiles & garments (CTG) and the Automobiles.
Adebayo recalled that the MSME Survival Fund Initiative was launched in the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic as part of the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP), which protected MSMEs from the shock of the COVID-19 Pandemic pointing out that as of July 2022, ₦67.5 billion had been disbursed to over 1.2 million beneficiaries, thus protecting at-risk jobs and creating new ones.
He said: “One of the key strategies used in the implementation of our mandate is the Backward Integration Program aimed at the domestication of production of high priority items. These items include Sugar, Cassava Starch, Oil Palm, Dairy, Cotton Textiles & Garments (CTG) and the Automobiles and I am glad to report that we have recorded progress in each of these commodities.
“I am glad to report that progress has been made in these programs; over $3 billion has been invested in 7 Sugar BIP projects and 8 independent projects.
“In the Automotive sector, over $1billion of investment has been recorded and we are ready to proceed to the next phase for the Automotive Industry; the review of the NAIDP is almost complete as the Plan is going through the Validation Process.
“To further accelerate industrialisation, we are fast-tracking the establishment of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) across the country to increase the availability of infrastructure and provide fiscal incentives for value addition.”
The Minister admitted that despite his Ministry’s initiatives and successes which, he said, are too numerous to mention, there is still a lot of grounds to be covered especially the high unemployment rates in the country affecting mostly youth.
“The nation is looking to us to solve big problems such as the unemployment of almost 30 million people who are mostly youth. Given the size of our challenges as a nation, we must design interventions to address the scale of the problems we need to solve; this will ensure we come up with creative/innovative ways to finance, implement and ultimately deliver transformative results.
“We need to better take charge of the areas which form part of our mandate, irrespective of who else is implementing initiatives in such spaces,” he stated.
He further said that the federal government, in its efforts to create the right environment for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to thrive, has disbursed ₦785 billion through the Bank of Industry to over ten million MSMEs from 2019 to July 2022.
According to him, the intervention was made possible because the BOI further deepened its capital base to $5 billion with international partners like AFREXIM and Credit Suisse.
“We have implemented various initiatives focused on creating the right environment for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to thrive. These include measures to ensure MSMEs have improved access to finance, enhanced market access, and reduction in operation cost.
“The Federal Government has successfully disbursed about ₦785 billion through the Bank of Industry (BOI) to over ten million MSMEs from 2019 to July 2022. This was possible because BOI has further deepened its capital base to $5 billion with international partners like AFREXIM, and Credit Suisse, among others,” he said.
Adebayo said that his Ministry revised the MSME Policy to drive the growth and competitiveness of the sector in the country and successfully increased the nation’s capacity to fund tech-driven MSMEs, through collaboration with the African Development Bank, to secure the $500 million Technology Fund.
In his address, Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed stated that his administration had been initiating and implementing policies aimed at moving the state’s economy along the trajectory of the nation’s overall development aspirations.
He noted that: “I must thank Mr President for allowing them to always contribute. Bauchi state is a state of Buhari and Buhari is Bauchi state and that’s why even as a governor in the opposition I know the position of Mr President.”
The Minister including that of State, Maryam Katagum, Bauchi State governor and dignitaries inspected the exhibition stand of local products made by agencies under the Ministry including a Nigerian assembled electric car.
DISCLAIMER
The OPINION / COLUMN is authored by independent contributors to the National Accord Newspaper. While contributors adhere to our editorial guidelines, they are not employed by the National Accord Newspaper. The perspectives and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of the National Accord Newspaper or its staff.
Leave a Reply