By Franklin Alli

The Organised Private Sector (OPS) has mounted pressure on the Minister of Trade and Investment Dr. Olusegun Aganga to change the new Ministry of Trade and Investment name, but the Minister vehemently resisted this, saying “I don’t care about name.”

This was part of the OPS demands when Aganga met with them recently at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs in Lagos.

The OPS, while acknowledging that there is nothing much in a name, told the Minister to change the re branded Ministry to “Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.

They argued that the new name did not emphasise manufacturing, rather, it is “Trade” is “buying and selling.”

However, the Minister swiftly responded, saying “I don’t care about name. What I care about is substance. I want to stick with it for now. The new name does not undermine Industry.”

According to him, tMinistry of Commerce and Industry has been expanded, refocused and rebranded so that it can play its proper role in the economy, so that it can be the key driver of the economy.

“If you look at the economy and you want to talk about economic growth, it is all about industry. It is about trade; it is about investment,” he said.

He said he will focus on increasing productivity of local companies.

“The aim is to remove barriers impeding productivity, to monitor the impact of monetary and fiscal policies on business and become active advocates for the industries.”

Aganga said that the Ministry will also focus on the aggressive growth of the SME and Industrial Cluster Sector to drive skill acquisition with renewed vigour as well as introduce innovation in the sector to increase productivity and enhance the purchasing power of the consumer.