Nigerian Economy diversification receives N606 million boost

The Nigerian economy is an oil-dominated one and crude oil exports is a major source of revenue for the Nigerian government. However the sector has been hit below the belt by the recent fall in global oil prices, a development that could cripple the economy and unleash Armageddon.

Following this there has been several calls from various sectors of the country for government to diversify the economy by increasing its non-oil exports, a move many see will free the country from its current woes.

The good news is that the federal government is doing a lot to make that happen and recently, the United States Agency for International Development disclosed plans to support the country’s non-oil sector with a special fund of $3m (N606.6m).

According to the CEO of Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Mr. Olusegun Awolowo, the fund is for operators along the Lagos-Kano-Jibiya ‘LAKAJI’ Corridor Development Project to access under specific guidelines and through a transparent process.

Enthusiastically he said "efforts to diversify the economy will soon yield result as the Federal Government through the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan has identified 13 National Strategic Export Products that will replace oil while it will be supported by two key NEPC initiatives – the One State One Product and Nigerian Diaspora Export Programme.

“The NSEPs are grouped under three categories: agro industrial products – including palm oil, cocoa, sugar, rice and cashew; mining-related products such as cement, iron ore and metals, auto parts and cars and aluminum, and thirdly, oil and gas industrial products – including petroleum products, fertilizer and urea, petrochemical and menthol.” he said according to PUNCH.

The bad news however is that Nigeria's economy is still dominated by oil at the moment and it would be a while before it become diversified.