Minister Galvanises Non-Oil Exports Stakeholders for Economic Growth

The Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Mr Humphery Enemakwu Abah, has emphasised that export business is critical to a nation’s economic growth and development, especially at this time of global economic challenges.
Addressing stakeholders at the opening of the two-day roundtable on “Exporting from Nigeria: Challenges and Solutions: Sectoral Perspective”, held recently in Kano the minister cited several countries, including the United States, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, China, Brazil and South Africa who have repositioned their export sectors for economic prosperity.
Abah, who commended Kononian Ventures Limited (KVL), organisers of the Export Roundtable in conjunction with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), observed that globalisation makes it possible for a country to remain relevant economically in the comity of nations. “Conscious of this fact,” the minister further said, “the Nigerian government over the years has established specialised agencies such as NEPC, NEPIX, NEPZA, NIPC, and has enacted policies that address the major problems of supply, demand and prize competitiveness of Nigeria’s non-oil export.”
The minister, who was the Chief Host of the roundtable, said the theme of the conference was timely considering the challenges of the global economic meltdown. “This forum is to provide a platform for contributions and presentations from both the private and public sectors that will be useful in appraising the functionality of the existing non-oil promotion polities,” Abah said, adding that “the outcome of the dialogue sessions would further enhance the re-designing of the non-oil export roadmap in line with the 7-point agenda of Mr President.”