The Federal Government has attracted one billion dollars Investment in the nation’s automotive industry.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo made this known in Abuja while presenting his Ministry’s achievements at the PMB Administration Scorecard 2015 to 2023.
Otunba Adebayo said this was due to the backward integration of key products and commodities, policies and interventions introduced by the Ministry in the automotive sector.
He stated that the Ministry had also created capacity to produce 400,000 units and also evolved initiatives to support widespread adoption of electric vehicles with the establishment of 3 solar powered charging stations in Lagos, Sokoto and Nsukka.
“With sugar, we have seen the creation of refining capacity in excess of local demand, while we continue to increase the pace of growing sugarcane for processing and about 150,000 hectares have been acquired and Mr President provided a further boost for the BIP by establishing and funding a program to irrigate 10,000 hectares of sugarcane fields” He explained.
According to him, to boost small-scale industrialisation, the Ministry has also established 6 agro-processing facilities across the country and its efforts at boosting the CTG value chain backward integration had been greatly enhanced by Executive Order 003 which has led to the production of military uniforms domestically.
He explained that the Nigeria National Quality Infrastructure Policy had been developed which would ensure world-wide acceptance of Nigeria’s products.
Otunba Adebayo further stated that a 50 billion naira Export Expansion Facility Fund Programme, EEFP, to radically expand the nation”s export capacity had been put in place which has led to the training of thousands of farmers on Good Agricultural Practices for exports and about a thousand SMEs on market access.
“For me, particularly gratifying is the training of about 2,000 women on export readiness and training of youths on export of digital services and as part of the revival of the Export Expansion Grant, we disbursed about N231billion, in the form of promissory notes, to over 160 exporters in the period between 2017 and 2020” the Minister said.
He emphasized that to sustain the momentum, the Ministry also launched the Zero-oil plan, Nigeria’s blueprint for non-oil export, which we expect will deliver a 5-year cumulative earnings of $150billion and lift 20 million citizens out of poverty.
“I am particularly delighted to share the news that we have drafted and validated Nigeria’s first ever investment policy which will be presented to the Federal Executive Council for approval shortly. This strategic document, which will communicate to the world what our priorities, aims, commitments and expectations are, is a landmark achievement for the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment and for Nigeria as an investment destination” He stated.
Otunba Adebayo announced that the Ministry had Issued 5,571 Acceptance Certificates valued at over N7.7trillion to over 2,665800 companies saying that the Acceptance Certificate allows companies claim the relevant tax relief when computing their Companies Income Tax.
He said a key achievement in MSME development is the National Policy on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. We are all familiar with the challenges faced by this crucial sector.
“What the policy does, among other things, is to provide a framework for resolving these issues and we have also developed the MSME market Hub to provide seamless interaction between MSMEs and customers” the Minister stated.
He pointed out that due to Nigeria’s participation in the AfCFTA, the Ministry has established a National Action Committee to coordinate and guide the country”s implementation strategy.
Earlier, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed used the opportunity to caution Nigerians against the spread of fake news as the country prepares for the general election.
Alhaji Lai Mohammed who expressed concern over the high rate of fake news in the last three weeks said anyone caught would face the full wrath of the law.
BY MATHEW AYOOLA, EDITED BY GRACE NAMIJI