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By Henry Umoru, ABUJA

DISTURBED by the dwindling economy, the Progressives Governors’ Forum, yesterday, called for a legislative framework for the diversification of Nigeria’s economy.

Speaking, yesterday, in Abuja at a public hearing organised by Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi(APC, Ekiti North) led  Senate Committee on National Planning and Economic Affairs, Chairman of the forum and Kebbi State Governor, Senator Abubakar Bagudu said that there was urgent need to provide a comprehensive framework, structure, programme and scheme that would help strengthen the nation’s capacity development in order to diversify the economy for self-sufficiency, job creation.

The hearing was on a “Bill for an Act to establish the Nigerian Economic Diversification Council.

Bagudu said: “We need to provide comprehensive framework, structure, programme and scheme for strengthening Nigerian Capacity Development in order to diversify the Nigerian economy for self-sufficiency, job creation.”

Underscoring the need for the economic diversification of the country, Governor Bagudu said: “If we recognise and provide legislative backing to our diversification quest, we will be able to tell the world we are serious about diversification.”

He noted that Nigeria was a blessed nation in all sense of the word, stressing that the government needed to support different sectors of the economy to attain diversification from oil.

He said: “We need to support different constituents of Nigeria to do better. We have done well in petroleum and gas not because it is the only sector, it is just that that is where we put in the most money.

“Maybe both the public and private sectors have put on an average basis between 1990 to 2010, which have been investing about $10 billion in petroleum and gas.

“If you measure how much has been going into agriculture for example in that period, may be its less than $500 million. So, there is need for the diversification of the economy looking at areas such as agriculture and mining.”

According to the governor, other sectors of the economy must be supported so that they could contribute more than they were contributing to the economy.

On her part, Director Legal Services, Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Mrs. Amaka Odili who noted that the proposed bill was a development in the right direction, said: “We are in support of it.”

In his remarks, the President of the Ship Owners Association of Nigeria, SOAN, Mkgeorge Onyung told the Senate that the NPA was losing a whooping sum $41bn( aboutN18.245billion) daily to poor management of the maritime sector.

Onyung who noted that NPA was making a total of $2m (N890million) instead of $43bn (19.135billion) as daily revenue, said that shipping was the biggest business in the world, hence, Nigeria should pay attention to it.