FG Reviewing Incentives, Tariffs to Ease Trade Facilitation

Crusoe Osagie

The federal government wednesday announced that a review of incentives and tariffs is being concluded for federal executive council’s approval to ease trade facilitation, noting that this move is aimed at ensuring a holistic framework towards addressing all bottlenecks affecting trade facilitation in the country.

The Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs. Aisha Abubarka, who dropped the hint, explained that to support the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), a review of the National Enterprise Development document has been concluded by Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) where the agency charged in implementing the NEDEP were enlarged to include National Agency for Food Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) in order to tackle the challenges affecting trade.
She said these measures were taken to drive inclusive economic growth and access to finance particularly for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

Abubarka, during the 2016 Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) international investment conference, however, stated that any plan for the diversification of the Nigerian economy must be strategic and integrated to include economic and revenue diversification, export promotion, import substitution and job creation through innovative use of local content.

She said major sectors targeted to achieve diversification include, the agro allied, solid minerals, oil and gas related industries, construction, light manufacturing activities and services, maintaining that the present administration would continue with the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) which is one of the five pillars the ministry’s focus.

“The NIRP is anchored on encouraging backward integration programmes to empower our people and create jobs along the value chain, development of special economic free zones and industrial clusters to attract investors, development of specific sectoral polices and programmes to stimulate industrial growth in sectors where Nigeria has comparative and competitive advantages in terms of natural resources endowments. For any country to attract increased Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), there must an effective overall investment policy framework, public governance and market competitiveness,” she added.

Abubarka pointed out that contributions from relevant stakeholders especially the private sector were not only necessary, but an imperative to assist government in making policies and creating an enabling environment to promote sustainable growth and economic development in Nigeria.

“There is no gainsaying that Nigeria is an extremely blessed nation with abundant human and natural resource, however, what is lacking is the sincerity of purpose to streamline and enforce processes and procedures to ensure that maximum utilisation of these resources. It behooves on the public and private sectors to work together and articulate pragmatic strategies that would address the obstacles that hinder our development efforts. The task involved in the diversification of the economy is enormous. Nigeria has no choice than to actively and effectively diversify. It will neither happen quickly or easily,” she added.

In her words, “It should be noted that investment promotion and institution capacity strategies for implementation are equally important. We are highly committed and doing our very best to improve the infrastructure gap and ease of doing business to attract more investment inflow into our country. There is a continuous need for a dialogue between the federal government and the private sector.”

Earlier, the president, LCCI, Dr. Nike Akande, said the investment conference was packaged to meet the yearnings of both local and international investors on investment opportunities and doing business in Nigeria.

She added that recently, the National Planning Commission prepared a 30-year roadmap infrastructure development plan towards resolving the infrastructure deficit in Nigeria, stressing that the master plan projected that Nigeria required at least $2 trillion for infrastructural development over the next three decades
According to her, to address this deficit, there is an urgent need to attract investments across the globe to compliment the nation’s deficit borrowing component of Nigeria’s budget.
“The government needs to provide the enabling environment to attract the needed investments from within Nigeria and abroad,” she said.

She noted that the global competitiveness index as compiled by the World economic forum this year ranked Nigeria at 127 after examining the country on indicators like institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education.

“I am however glad to confirm to you all that the Nigerian investment climate is gradually improving with renewed investments in some critical infrastructure like rail transport and on-going reforms in our ports. The regulatory environment is also being strengthened with the fight against corruption, introduction of code of corporate governance and the successful passage of a bill to establish a federal competition and consumer protection commission which will eventually abolish monopolies in Nigeria,” she added.