…Targets $150bn boost for foreign reserve

By Emmanuel Elebeke

The African  Development  Bank, AfDB is to establish  Special-Industrial Processing zones, SAPZs in all 36 states of Nigeria including  FCT.

The SAPZs, an initiative  of AfDB Group, public and private  sector  is a 10 year development  programme  to be financed under the NSO and AfDB which will guarantee steady annual  growth rate of about 5% over the next 10 years from  year 2023.

The plan  amongst  others  is to add  at least $15billion  to the country’s  foreign reserves  cumulatively from non-oil  exports over  the next 10 years.

It is also expected to create  at least 500,000 additional export linked  jobs  annually  due  principally  to increase  in productivity export activities and lift  at least 10 million Nigerians out of poverty  and also empower each State and  it’s people  by integrating them into export  value chain.

The plan is also expected to  attract  Foreign Direct  Invests for infrastructure development such as rail  lines, silos, captive  power plants along side  water, healthcare,  qualitative education system, hospitality  and human capital  development.

Announcing this Tuesday at a press conference  titled: “Nigerian Industrialisation  Summit ” held in Abuja, the minister of State for Finance Budget and National Planning,  Clem Agba said  the programme is geared towards sustaining the growth trajectary being  recorded by the Nigerian economy which has indicated a return  of business and economic activities with 5.01% of GDP growth recorded in the Q2  2021 and 0.51% in Q1 2021 respectively.

According to him, the SAPZs, will unlock  the potentials of each state in the development  and  and promotion of at least  one crop for export.

“The SAPZs scheme is  perfectly   in line  with Federal  government  Policy  to promote non-oil  revenue  generation  and Zero-Oil Economy  Plan, optimizing agro-value chain and contiuous use of local content  for economic  prosperity at the national and sub-national  levels.

“The Zero- Oil Economy  Plan can now be sustained by the SAPZs  for the 36 states  and FCT guaranteed by Federal government  of Nigeria  and Non Sovereign  Organisation window NSO for the private sectors, also by AfDB which Madewell  Garment limited, promoters of  Jesse Export Processkng Zones and Anchors is leveraging  to drive  the  Private  section of our economy.”

“This aligns with the   Federal  government’s  drive  on economic  diversification, job creation  and enhanced agro value chains, with the ultimate  objective  of  lifting 100 million  Nigerians out of poverty  over 10 years.

“We are focusing on concentric diversification  strategies especially in agriculture that can deliver sustained,  job intensive and inclusive growth. This requires protection  of export of range of products for overseas markets to earn foreign exchange by unlocking agriculture value chain,” Agba said.

In his remarks, the epresentative of AfDB president, Prof.Oyebanji Olayinka said: “Today’s  spotlight is how Nigeria can feed, clothe and house itself. This exhibition  gives me joy as this is a  demonstration  that the festival, sub-nationals and the private sector have yielded to the call and have put in place  measures to diversify  the economy and generate renvenue sources to complement the  dwindling income  from  the Federation  Account which was mostly affected  by the decline  in oil revenue  as a result  of pandemic.”

“Measures put in place by  government  of Nigeria have ensured that both health and economic data have continued to  be on the positive trajectory.

“To sustain the growth  trajectory, this Special- Industrial Processing Zones  will  be established in all 36 states if Nigeria including  the FCT.”

The event was convened to spotlight on Nigeria Industrialisation Summit and Expo which is one of the  activities designed to create food  security  and diversify  the Nigerian Economy.

Recall that the administration  has continued to place  emphasis on the need for an aggressive  economic diversification  at the national, and sub-national  levels.