The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Okechukwu Enelamah has disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari is undertaken difficult but rewarding steps towards revamping the battered nation’s economy .
Enelamah who spoke at media briefing in Lagos on Thursday admitted that the nation’s economy is in dire strait
He said, “ These are extraordinary times for Nigeria as a country, for us as citizens. The crash of oil prices in the international market has down government earning by 70% from the mid-2014. The negative of impacted of the dipped earnings have been significant. Last year our GDP dropped to about three percent the lowest between 2005 and 2014”.
The Minister further revealed that the Buhari-led administration had perfected plans to harness the opportunities that crashed oil prices presents through diversification of the economy with focus on promotion of locally-produced goods.
“The flip side of the crisis is the opportunity It presents to create something new, new attitude and appetite. The Administration of Muhammadu Buhari has started a difficult but rewarding task of breaking from our tradition on dependence on oil and in its place developing a diversified export-based of domestic manufacturers”, Enelamah said.
He adds, “There is also a great deal of investor interest on Nigeria. This is good news considering the current social economic conditions we found ourselves. We should see it as a timely opportunity to carry out fundamental reforms on our economy.
“Also the entrepreneurship drive of our people is another confidence that we shall overcome our challenges. We see these energies everywhere from small businesses to large ones. We must find ways to harness these energies, we recognize that unless we empower these everyday heroes to fulfill their ambition and dreams we are stand a grieve risk of producing frustrated and disillusioned people.
“Our ministry is determined to play a critical role especially at a time that we are planning of diversifying our economy away from oil in a sustainable manner. The scope is an expansive one.
While unveiling the blueprint for the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Enalamah highlighted the visions of the ministry which included : Creation of an enabling environment for industries, trade and investment in Nigeria, Implement Nigerian Investment revolution plan, Champion the course of Nigerian MSMEs as a means of creating jobs and inclusive growth and attracting proactively long term local and foreign investment.
