Diversification will drive economic growth – FG insists

The Federal Government has insisted that economic diversification through the export of non-oil products and services is the route to achieving sustainable economic growth and development.

Adeniyi Adebayo, minister of industry, trade and investment, stated this at the launch of the ‘Export4survival’ campaign, as the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) flagged off its export week in Abuja on Monday.

“The launch of this campaign is an official endorsement of the initiative to stimulate the consciousness of Nigerians to the realities of our time that diversification of the economy’s productive base is key to employment generation, wealth creation and poverty reduction in our country,” he said.

The minister noted that with this campaign, a significant mileage would be gained in the volume and value of exported Nigerian products and services.

“It is also envisaged that with the launch of this campaign, more activities would be seen to be taking place in the non-oil export ecosystem that would increase foreign exchange earnings into Nigeria,” he said.

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To sustain the ‘Export4survival’ campaign, the minister urged practitioners in the non-oil export value chain to adhere to global best practices for their products to receive acceptability and be competitive in the international market. “It cannot, therefore, be overemphasised that the success of the Export4Survival campaign needs the buy-in of all players in the non-oil export space, ” he added.

Ezra Yakusak, the CEO, NEPC, said the campaign launch aligns with the commitment of the council to reposition its operational activities in line with its mandate to develop and promote the non-oil export sector as a key driver of the diversification agenda of the present administration.

He said NEPC has over the years undertaken a series of branding activities from ‘We Grow At Home’, to ‘Sell Abroad to Export Business’, ‘Tomorrow Business’ and now, the ‘Export4Survival’ campaign.

“We conceived theExport4Survival campaign as part of strategic initiative to increase the awareness of opportunities in the sector and benefits of exporting Nigerian goods and services to the overall growth of the economy and the idea is to stimulate Nigerians to imbibe the export culture,” he said.