The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, on Wednesday proposed a five-year timeline for Nigeria to prepare to transform its local resource and economic base to actively play in the globally arena.
Also, the minister said Nigeria must begin “a conscious effort to identify key areas of the economy it has the most competitive
advantage and strengthen them to withstand the challenge of globalcompetition.”

Mr. Kachikwu spoke at the 6th Sustainability in the Extractive Industries, SITEI, conference in
Abuja, on the theme:
“Establishing the framework for globalising our
local economy.”
He said the government must seriously look at Nigeria first, by implementing policies to encourage Nigerian companies togive them the competitive edge
against their counterparts in Africa
and around the world.

“Free trade and free world are no new concepts. Every country always strives to protect its own.
We must begin to seriously look at Nigeria first. We must change the attitude of vilifying fellow citizens
and ensure those using their resources to promote the country’s economy were recognized, incentivized, and supported.

“We must encourage those Nigerians who put their monies to develop the country’s economy, rather than take them to invest abroad. We must find a way to make things easier for people like Aliko Dangote and Mike Adenuga who have done well in putting back into the economy,” he said.

The minister underlined the need for products specialization, by identifying areas the country has
the most competitive advantage, like oil and gas, petrochemicals, mining, agriculture, and services.

To enable these sectors face the challenges of
competition in their areas of business, Mr.
Kachikwu said the government should consider
policies over the next five years to guarantee
they were sufficiently financed and
strengthened.
Nigeria, he said, can never be an economic
power house in Africa and the world without a
vibrant local economy and defined industrial
base.

Again, he noted that a nation without a solid
manufacturing base was a sure way to maintain
dependency and waste of resources.
He identified the key areas of focus to create a
conducive business atmosphere for Nigeria to
transform its local economy to attract global
investors and players.

Apart from bridging the infrastructure gaps, by
driving cost to the lowest level, while promote
ease of doing business, the minister said
security was paramount, to ensure stability and
high productivity.
“There an absolute urgency for government to
begin to address the challenge of infrastructure
in our economy. We must create a Marshall
Plan to replace decaying infrastructure, like the
refinery. Although Nigeria is one of the major
OPEC producers, we are still importing the bulk
of our petroleum product needs,” he said.

He underlined the need for some legislations to
enforce local content policies in the oil and gas
sector, to retain more money in the local
economy and reduce capital flight.
In developing infrastructural facilities, he said
government should insist on work done in
Nigeria, to ensure more fabrication yards were
established in-country, boost Nigeria’s
industrial sector, reduce production cost, and
maximize government revenue.

To facilitate infrastructure financing and proper
repositioning of the economy, Mr. Kachikwu
emphasized the strengthening of the capital
market and the financial systems Investors to
make it for investors to raise funding.
He supported the ongoing development of five
oil and gas parks, in addition to a gas revolution
park, saying necessary incentives, like tax
holidays, must granted, to transform the
establishments into centres of production and
investment excellence.

Besides, he added that “focus must be given to
developing financial institutions, like
Infrastructure Bank, Bank of Industries and
Agricultural Bank. We need to create the right
fiscal incentives, in the form of tax holidays,
duty waivers, or select areas you need to
position the local economy from external
competition.”

On security, he said over the next five years,
the government should invest in resolving
security issues through regional and state police
as well as border protection, particularly with
the challenge of the country’s porous borders.
The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Extractive
Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI,
Waziri Adio, emphasised the need to update
local processes to build the capacity to compete
globally.

“We need to realise that we operate in a
competitive economy. We need to exploit the
advantages we have to maximise our
potentials. We must be transparent and
competitive to capture on a sustainable basis
whatever market we want to play in,” Mr. Adio
said.

www.premiumtimesng.com/business/business-news/237585-kachikwu-advocates-five-year-timeline-nigeria-economic-turnaround.html

An astute submission from the minister.

Ok na.

CC Lalasticlala CC MYND44

The call for state policing is gathering momentum.