The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) says the Non-Oil Export Product is the only means that Nigeria’s current economy can be diversified, considering the over-reliance on crude oil.
Olusegun Awolowo, executive director, NEPC, speaking in Abuja on Monday at the Focus Group Session on Non-Oil Export, he stressed that Non-Oil Export was the easiest way that Nigerian economy could be diversified.
Olusegun, who was represented by the director, Policy and Strategy, NEPC, Sidi-Aliyu Abdullahi, decried that Nigeria had relied heavily on mono product for many years without any development so far.
He insisted that the only solution for drastic development and diversification of the economy was to develop the Non-Oil sector in which the needed development would be achieved.
He said: “Non-Oil Export is the easiest way that Nigeria Economy can be diversified, for so many years we have been having situation where we relied on one mono-product and it has not actually delivered the desired result that we need for the economy to be diversified.
“So, the only alternative that we have is to fall back on the Non-Oil sector, develop it and through that we can endanger the much needed diversification that Nigeria desire.”
Furthermore, he said the NEPC Programmes were tailored towards achieving over reliance on Oil and with the Economic and Recovery Growth Plan of the Federal Government, Nigeria will have achieved a non-reliance on Oil by 2025.
“We are currently working on a situation where the contributions of the non-oil sector will be significant than the oil itself, we envisage that in the next couple of years, latest 2025 with all our plans coupled with the Economic and Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP) of the Federal Government, definitely, we will see the needed growth in the sector.”
While speaking on packaging of the non-oil products which has been an issue of concern, Olusegun revealed that the Federal Government has put in place measures to curb inadequacies in packaging the non-oil products.
“The Quality Infrastructure Framework has been established and lots of efforts and resources improve the quality and packaging of our products are in place such as partnership with UNIDO and other development partners to improving the sector”. He said.
