THE Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment says that its attention has been drawn to allegations making the rounds in some sections of the media about the recent reforms carried out by the Minister, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah.

Bisi Daniels, the Communications Advisor to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, said in a statement on Monday that the Ministry under Dr. Enelamah initiated 13 major reforms, some of which are ongoing.

He said that the reforms were necessitated by Federal Government development plans such as the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, the National Industrial Revolution Plan; and the speed of governance.

“For example, to accelerate the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan, a project to develop world-class Special Economic Zones to position Nigeria as the pre-eminent manufacturing hub in sub-Saharan Africa and a major exporter of made in Nigeria goods and services regionally and globally, was initiated.

“Called Project MINE, Made in Nigeria for Exports, it is to aid structural transformation of the Nigerian economy by increasing the manufacturing sector’s contribution to GDP to 20 pe cent by 2025; contribute to sustainable inclusive growth by creating 1.5 million new direct manufacturing jobs in the initial phase; and to increase and diversify non-oil foreign exchange earnings to at least US$30bn annually by 2025, by increasing manufacturing sector exports,” he said.

He noted that in February, the Federal Government signed investment agreements with three Development Finance Institutions; Afreximbank, Bank of Industry and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, NSIA, for the development of the project.

According to him, the three DFIs are among the five to partner with Nigeria SEZ Investment Company Limited (NSEZCO) and the Ministry of Finance Incorporated. The other investment partners are Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and African Development Bank, AfDB.

He noted that while the recycled allegations on NSEZCO have been debunked by the Ministry on many occasions, a meeting with the strategic investment partners at the Presidential Villa last week, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had to put to rest the rumours about the company.

He condemned the recent misrepresentations that have been created about NSEZCO in certain sections of the media and regretted the embarrassment this may have caused the investors and reaffirmed federal government’s endorsement of the strategies and plans put in place for the actualization of the SEZs.

He said that Professor Osinbajo also assured the investors of the readiness of the Buhari administration to offer all the support required to complete their investments in the company.

“It is the vision and plan of the Buhari Administration for the country to be the pre-eminent manufacturing hub in Sub-Saharan Africa and a major exporter of manufactured products,” the statement quoted Osinbajo as saying.

He also restated the government’s commitment to Project MINE, a Presidential Priority Intervention project, using Special Economic Zones to achieve the objectives of boosting manufacturing’s share of GDP to 20%, generating $30 billion in annual export earnings and creating 1.5 million new jobs in the export-oriented manufacturing value chain.

The statement recalled that Abubakar Malami, the Attorney-General of the Federation, who was at the meeting, explained to the investors that the recent investigation into the affairs of the company was to establish the integrity of the Federal Government and the propriety of its actions in the light of the negative perceptions created in the media.

He also reiterated that the Federal Government has no intention to frustrate investment in the company and its smooth take-off.

“Other reforms embarked on by the Ministry include those in Trade and Intellectual Property Registration,” the statement added.

– May 28, 2019 @ 17:25 GMT |