The Federal Government has on Monday suspended the issuance of licenses for the operation of the Free Trade Zones (FTZ) in the country, citing concerns of the low impact of most free trade zones in driving wealth creation.
Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo who announced the suspension on Monday at the inauguration of the panel set up for the evaluation of the performance of FTZs, said all applications for FTZ licenses will henceforth not be processed pending the completion of the panel’s assignment.
He noted that the key objective of the panel headed by the Minister was to provide a set of recommendations to inform government strategy on FTZs based on a thorough evaluation of the current operations of FTZs.
Besides, the panel would work through the context of the terms of references provided to deliver a clear and detailed report within eight weeks of inauguration.
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The Panel which also has the Minister of State in the Ministry, Mariam Katagum as a member; will map out and implement clear strategies to evaluate the operations of recipients of FTZ licenses for the purpose of delivering world-class FTZs as expected under the Presidential Priority Projects (PPP).
He lamented that FTZs in the country have not performed to expectations in terms of impacting positively on the industrial development of the country as witnessed in developed countries.
“It is important to note that FTZs in most developed countries have contributed successfully towards their industrialization process. The Asian Tiger adopted the model and today, most countries, including African countries, are beginning to key into the idea.”The Minister said in a statement issued by Sayo Ifedayo, his Special Assistant on Media.
“Nigeria through the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment () have begun delivery of world-class FTZs? across the country. However, due to poor implementation, we are yet to take delivery of the dynamic potentials of FTZs as an instrument for economic growth,” he said.
The Minister disclosed that Nigeria presently has 33 licensed FTZ operators in the country but added that due to poor implementation only 12 are operational.
“Currently the performance of FTZs licensees has been below expectation and this heavily impacts our ability to deliver on crucial priority areas of the government. FTZs are key to the nation’s push towards industrialisation and will have a significant impact on? Nigeria’s trade and economic fortunes are greatly required given the current economic challenges. Globally, FTZs account for 68 million jobs and generate USD 500 billion annually.
The sector can be extremely lucrative if executed efficiently and we must aim to improve the operation of our zone, the Minister noted.
