The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode has said it is time for Nigeria to develop sustainable roadmap to rev up export, with particular focus on multi-sector products, far beyond oil.
He also disclosed that the export inflow at the Lekki Free Zone in Ibeju Lekki area of the state was projected to hit over $6billion (about N2.159trillion) by 2020.
Speaking at the 2nd National Committee Meeting on Export Promotion of the National Economic Council held in Lagos, Ambode said beyond oil, it was now important for the country to put in place infrastructure and other initiatives to support other sectors with a view to preparing them for export.
He said already, the Lagos State Government had keyed into several export-oriented initiatives such as the One-State, One-Product Initiative, adding that it was gratifying to note that tremendous progress had been made in that regard.
“Our efforts in this area include the development of Lekki Free Zone as a one-stop export processing zone and we are happy to report that we have made tremendous progress in this particular export zone; and I hope participants would have the time to see what it is that is actually going on in that place.
“Just to give you a clearer picture of what we are saying, at the end of 2020 when the investment of the Dangote Industries and other Deep Seaport that we are putting in that place will fully come on stream, the export inflows that we are projecting for that place is over $6billion and that is just the way to go,” Ambode said.
He added that through the export initiatives being spearheaded and monitored by the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, the state government had identified and commenced the process of developing three key commodities in which the state has comparative and competitive advantage, including coconut, fish and vegetables.
“We plan to facilitate the development of these commodities into exportable products. Our export promotion initiatives also include export aggregators designed to boost production capacities of our indigenous micro, small and medium industries. The objective is to create locally made products and services that not only satisfy local market but also meet competitive export demand.
“We have also developed enterprise zone, small-scale industrial estate and light industrial parks in different parts of this state, to provide business accommodation and also factory spaces, support made-in-Lagos campaign and also enhance market access for our MSMEs,” the governor
said.
