FG means to ease business, revive EEG – Buhari

‎The Federal Government has reiterated it’s commitments towards boosting the ease of doing business in Nigeria; and reviving the Export Expansion Grant (EEG).

President Muhammadu Buhari made emphasis on these economic development plans while speaking at the opening ceremony of the Lagos International Trade Fair (LITF) in Lagos.

The President was represented at the fair by‎ the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Okechukwu Enelamah.

‎He said,”The nation’s improvement in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Report is an encouraging one which shows the commitment of the Federal government in staying true to its promise of further industrialization, improved investment and job creation.

“There are major areas where the government has shown and is still committed to, and one of them is agriculture.

“The agricultural value chain, which includes growing, harvest and post-harvest management, and processing, would go a long way to boost food security, create jobs and enable the nation further feed itself.”

While opining that these policies and infrastructure development, especially power supply and sufficient road networks, were critical to turning the business environment around, Buhari added that was being proactive.

He further urged MSME’s to leverage the clinics and industrial clusters that the government had provided in states, stating that the clinics have relevant agents who would assist MSMEs in major business decisions to increase their capacity and contribution to GDP.

Buhari revealed that the government had been intensifying efforts to revive the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) and clear off the backlog of payments in order to revive the export sector.

He said that the delay in implementation of the EEG revival was due to the process of clearing the backlogs, which had been underway adding that the backlog would be cleared as soon as possible, because the programme was essential to increasing the capacity of non-oil exports in the nation.

The 31st fair had 15 countries in attendance and 1000 exhibitors.

Similarly, the National President, of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mrs. Nike Akande said, “It is also to stress the importance of the creation of enabling business environment to attract new investors, both domestic and foreign; and grow existing ones. It is also to highlight the necessity of building an economy that is sustainable. There is perhaps no better time to do this than now. Needless to say, this is the time to focus more on the non-oil sector for diversification.”

Akande, explained that the programme is being driven by Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council under the chairmanship of Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo.
She added that, this will no doubt impact positively on current investment climate in the country.

She said, “We will continue to offer advice, inputs and partnership on strategies and measures to ‎facilitate the advancement of the Nigerian economy.”

Joy Ekeke