We are Deploying Massive Infrastructure to Boost Economic Diversification, FG Tells WTO

The federal government has stated that success in Nigeria’s quest for economic diversification is largely dependent on modern and efficient infrastructure, noting that industries require a steady supply of electricity to function optimally, just as agriculture and mining require robust, efficient and cost effective transport networks to reach markets.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, during the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Summit in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, yesterday, stated that deeper economic diversification is an urgent necessity to undertake structural transformation; buffer the domestic economy from externally transmitted shocks and accelerate growth accompanied by job creation in Africa.

He told the gathering that the task ahead for further diversification of the economy is enormous, pointing out that Nigeria is strategic about its economic diversification and is therefore making spirited effort to boost critical infrastructure.

Enelamah in a speech titled: ‘Diversifying Africa’s Largest Economy,’ disclosed to the world trade body a few of the country’s strategic steps at economic diversification, including the telecommunications sector where Nigeria witnessed a phenomenal rise from 400,000 lines in 2001 to 140,000, 000 lines currently and attributed such feat to the deregulation policy of the government.

The minister hinted of the Nigerian government’s plan for continuing to foster the diversification of the economy which he said was predicated on three major underlying elements along with implementing the country’s industrialisation plan, improving the ease of doing business and building both hard and soft infrastructure.

He announced that operators of the sectors had created over a million direct and indirect jobs and has helped to attract over $USD 25 billion, adding that the success of the telecoms sector, especially mobile telephony, has helped develop other ancillary sectors such as e-commerce, entertainment (Nollywood) among others.

He expressed Nigeria’s pleasure that the WTO recognised the standards being set by the Nigerian entertainment industry (Nollywood) and had reflected it on the programme cover for the Round Table, during the summit.

The Nigerian trade minister hinted that “we have seen the strong growth of the financial services sector since the liberalisation exercise that started in the 90s, and that the exercise had continued in 2005 with the guidance of the financial regulatory body the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and that there were market-led mergers and acquisitions that reduced the number of banks from 89 to 24.”

He emphasised that banks came out of the exercise bigger, with better corporate governance and have now started to operate across Africa, financing larger transactions while the market-led business combinations served as a catalyst for the stock exchange growth, which he revealed had grown to a market capitalisation of over $50 billion.

The third plan the Trade Minister informed the WTO audience, was the cement sector. He stated that at some point, Nigeria primarily imported cement for the nations’ building needs despite the abundant limestone in the country.

Nigeria, Enelamah said, implemented a backward integration agenda that has now translated the country to a net exporter of cement. The minister said the success that has been recorded in growing three sectors such as telecoms, financial and cement sectors were possible because of the right enabling environment, appropriate regulation, policy consistency as well as fostering competitions among the industry operators.

Enelamah who combines Industry and Investment to his Trade portfolio, stated that further diversification of the economy is herculean but Nigeria’s short and medium term prospects remain favourable driven by strong fundamental advantages.

These strongest advantages, according to him, were strong demographics, a large domestic market and labour force, abundant natural resources and favourable climate as well as a developing financial sector with strong management teams.

He added that a growing democratic institution with the political will to build the foundation for the future was great.

Nigeria, he revealed, was creating an ambitious natural infrastructure fund to complement the existing infrastructure component of the sovereign wealth fund.

This, the minister disclosed, was consistent with Nigeria’s national infrastructure master-plan, aimed at catalysing economic activity.

He assured the gathering that Nigeria would continue to partner other countries and international organisations like WTO to achieve win-win economic growth and improve the welfare of Nigerian citizen.