Bishop Dr. Felix Onomeregbor is a UN member for Peace, Unity and Development , Nigeria. In this interview with Saturday Vanguard Business, he bares his mind on the need for government to empower the youths even as he goes into Niger Delta communities empowering people and also preaching peace and reconciliation through his prophetic voice world outreach. Excerpts:

Presently, Nigerian non-oil exports are still significantly below potential. The gradual decline over the last 49 years is saddening especially when we look at past data for example in 1961. We supplied 43 percent of the global shelled groundnuts; today it is almost zero percent. US, Asia and Argentina now have universal dominance of the groundnut market.

The level of local investors’ participation on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, has continued to shrink since the beginning of the year with their percentage contribution to transactions on the Exchange declining to 24.75 percent as at the end of April 2014.

CHEMICAL AND Non-Metallic Products Employer’s Federation, CANMPEF, has warned that unless and until the Federal Government of Nigeria policies jump-start the manufacturing sector, the academic exercise of Nigeria on top of the ladder of Gross Domestic Product, GDP, growth rate will not make economic sense.

The Supervising Minister of National Planning, Ambassador Bashir Yuguda has called on the Chinese authorities to take proactive measures to discourage the production of substandard products which are imported into the country.