Industrialisation Holds Key To Unlocking Nigeria’s Wealth - Aganga

If we are going to move from a poor nation to a rich country, industrialisation holds the key because it has the potential for unlocking the wealth of our country, Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga said at the kick off of a two-day workshop on enhancing the productivity of Nigeria’s industries, organised by the Ministry of Trade and Investment in Lagos, on Monday.

“The Industrial Revolution will strategically position and empower the nation’s manufacturing sector as the key driver of economic growth through job creation and increased contribution to Gross Domestic Product,” the minister said.

Aganga, who declared the workshop open, noted that as part of the Industrial Revolution, the Ministry of Trade and Investment had started brainstorming with the Organised Private Sector and the Ministry of Power to reduce the cost of doing business in Nigeria and ultimately increase the productivity of the manufacturing sector.

He said that the nation’s Industrial Revolution Plan would be based on areas where the country had comparative and competitive advantage, adding that the government had embarked on far-reaching reforms aimed improving the business climate and making Nigeria the preferred investment hub in Africa and globally.

Said the minister: “Africa’s share of the global trade is only three per cent. This is because Africa has been exporting raw materials rather that exporting finished products. For us as a country, manufacturing is very important because it solves three critical problems: it solves the problem of GDP growth, unemployment and balance of payment. Also, manufacturing is critical for wealth creation.”

“If we are going to move from a poor nation to a rich country, industrialisation holds the key because it has the potential for unlocking the wealth of our country. This is why we are kicking off an Industrial Revolution Plan for our country. Part of the objectives of this workshop is to come up with big, practical and implementable steps on how to remove the barriers to industrialisation because we must industrialise our country. If we are going to diversify our economy, then the industrial sector must play the leading role. If we are going to move from a poor nation to a big nation, we must have a strong and vibrant industrial sector,” he added.

Aganga said that his ministry had already mandated the Standards Organisation of Nigeria to step up the war against fake and sub-standard products in order to protect local industries and enhance their capacity utlilisation.

“We are working towards reducing fake and sub-standard goods from about 80 per cent to 30 per cent working with SON. And because we have so many fake and substandard goods, the cost of producing goods in the country is more expensive than those cheap sub-standard products that are brought into this country. We are going to take drastic actions with respect to tackling this problem,” he said.

Speaking during the event, the Minister of Power, Barth Nnaji, said that the Federal Government was committed to the successful implementation of its Power Sector Reforms Programme, adding his ministry would partner the Ministry of Trade and Investment on the provision of dedicated, uninterrupted power supply to key industrial areas across the country to fast-track the country’s Industrial Revolution Plan.

Nnaji said, “The Federal Government is committed to the implementation of the Power Sector Reforms Programme, which is aimed at providing sustainable uninterrupted power supply to meet domestic and industrial demand. Part of the ongoing reforms is the implementation of a cost-reflective tariff structure that will open up the sector to attract more local and Foreign Direct Investment.

“As part of this strategy, we are going to partner the Ministry of Trade and Investment on delivering more power to the country’s industrial areas such as Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Onitsha, Aba, Shagamu and other places. Already, we have mapped out the industrial areas and more power will be delivered to these industrial centres.”

He added, “For example, we have concluded plans to move power about 1,000MW from the two power plants at Olurunsogo to Shagamu. This is because we have identified power as very critical to Nigeria’s Industrial Revolution Plan. Part of the problem militating against investment in the power sector is that we operate a non-cost reflective tariff structure. Currently, power producers owe gas producers about N24bn due to our non-cost reflective tariff.

“While we intend to address this problem, we also have plans to provide adequate incentives to rural dwellers through the new tariff regime. What we want to achieve in this country is to have a power sector that is robust to deliver sustainable uninterrupted power supply to drive the Industrial Revolution that is being spearheaded by the Ministry of Trade and Investment.”

The Minister of Trade and Investment also signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a N155bn ($1bn) investment with Glencore. The proposed areas of investment include mining, energy and infrastructure.

With its headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, Glencore is one of the world’s leading integrated producers and marketers of commodities. The company, which has worldwide activities in the production, sourcing, processing, refining, transporting, storage, financing and supply of metals and minerals, energy products and agricultural products, has 50 offices in over 40 countries.


http://businessdayonline.com/NG/index.php/markets/companies-and-market/37792-industrialisation-holds-key-to-unlocking-nigerias-wealth-aganga

this pdp and their hunting dogs take nigerians for fools otherwise how can this slowpoke be talking about industrialisation in a country without security and electricity?

1025: this pdp and their hunting dogs take nigerians for fools otherwise how can this slowpoke be talking about industrialisation in a country without security and electricity?

I see you still have not moved your brain out of your azz hole. As you can see, electricity will staedly improve and where is the insecurity? Are you insecure? Stop talking nonsense for once.

Mr Segun Agaga, Yes we know but there would be no industrialisation without a power source

This is because we have identified power as very critical to Nigeria’s Industrial Revolution Plan.

Understatement of the decade, lol.

Johndoe100:

I see you still have not moved your brain out of your azz hole. As you can see, electricity will staedly improve and where is the insecurity? Are you insecure? Stop talking nonsense for once.

Actually my brother, I don't know which country you are living in but as of Nigeria, Electricity has steadily declined.

Call you people back home

Fhemmmy: ^^^ Sadly true and [b]yet we have money being allocated yearly to give u[/b]s light, but darkness persists

Monthly allocation ? LOL

the same generator sellers and their fellow goons would NEVER allow constant electricity in Nigeria

Both internal and external factors (Honda aka Japan) etc don't want it to happen.

Industrialisation will unlock Nigeria’s wealth and corruption will sentence Nigeria economy to death.

@@@@
those looter are readin my post in nl

well we know thay are readin

it just that their block head wouldnt let it be

oga joe might be readin self and still havent learnt much

Industrialization indeed, with a President who wouldn't be able to spell industrialization; even if his depended on it..

Bunch of retards!!

Are these plutocrats and noisemakers not tired of talking??

Stick to looting, and stop selling pipe dreams.

All they ever do is TALK, TALK TALK. Even an econ 101 student knows this. I was expecting him to give us details and timeline on when "electricity" will be sufficient to support industrialization, yet he's speaking big English.

Fhemmmy:

[b]Well, Nigerians are fools to have such people as their leaders . . . Only fools could be led by fools

good one, i dont think a wise man can be ruled by a fool right?? nigerian are even more fools than the leaders because we keep falling for the same thing all the time!!

Industrialization?? So will a serious commitment to fighting corruption, state autonomy, Justice and freedom...etc. And light

This guy needs to industrialize his face, and rid it off the shackles of eczema; before selling another pipe dream to us... We can't even refine our own crude oil, looters at the helms of power, there is no electricity, no jobs, and the whole country looks like it's stuck in the medieval ages - yet, he's talking about industrialization..

Go, fix your damn eczema ridden face; and industrialize your oversized mouth, Aganga.

Hahahahahaha. All they ever do is coming up with solutions that has no chances of implementation. Mr Aganga, we know that a long time ago. We put you there to start work on industrializing the nation and not reminding us what we know.

Industrialisation will unlock
Nigeria’s wealth..even a 2years old boy knws that.. The question is. How did he intend to achieve that without stable power supply....mtchew Rubbish

NEXT

Liar, liar! I know for a fact that Aganga has already started hunting for bribes from potential international investors! His Goldman pedigree is a bloody front for the business-as-usual of looting the Nigerian treasury or collecting fat bribes!

Even if Nigeria were to industrialize Nigerians LOVE foreign goods. THey believe all good made in Africa are inferior that is why we spend all our money abroad making Europeans a lot of money. We need to change our mindset and startbuying our good. Let's start a movement: www.nigerianedp.com

I thought Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai has preached this sermon before. A government that has no clue, S M H!

OAM4J: Industrialisation will unlock Nigeria’s wealth and corruption will sentence Nigeria economy to death.

Boko Haram and Northern violence will act as gate-man to unsure industrialisation does not enter.

*checks the topic of the thread, sees "Industrialisation will..," remembers "My administration will", "We will", "the govt will", " the power sector will".... And blames myself for wasting 3mins of my life writing this comment*

Am happy they knw dat Nigeria's wealth is locked, nd they should also realize dat d keys are in d pockets of their foolish nd selfish bosses.