The Federal Government has made its intention known to stop the importation of some products, including rice, fertilisers and sugar into the country by 2015.
President Goodluck Jonathan made this declaration at an interactive session he had with the Nigerian business community and captains of industry in Lagos on Monday.
According to the president, the country needs to stimulate the local production of these items, adding, “my belief is that by 2015, Nigeria has no business importing rice or fertiliser and we also need to encourage the local production of sugar such that its importation will be a thing of the past.
“To create jobs,” he continued, “the government will strongly discourage the importation of goods being locally produced or capable of being locally produced in the country.”
He added that subsidies and waivers, which he believed had had much detrimental effect on the economy, would be discouraged, and henceforth, “special consideration and concessions will be granted only to businesses delivering value chains and creating jobs.”
President Jonathan assured that the Federal Government would come up with an appropriate tarrif structure that would not be tinkered with till 2015 in order to allow for long-term planning by the organised private sector, and see that the decision on importation is brought to effect.
He said that as from May 29 onwards, he would personally chair the national economic team, a think tank consisting of eggheads from both public and private sectors.
According to the president, he had decided to usher in and inaugurate his new administration with a meeting and brainstorming session with the private sector, instead of with dancing and merry-making because “this is what the times call for.”
He equally promised that he would take the brainstorming further by going into multiple days of retreats on each sector of the economy towards finding solutions to the many problems facing the economy.
Speaking earlier at the forum, the Special Economic Adviser to the United Nation’s Secretary General, Professor Jeffrey Sachs, had stated that Nigeria should be hopeful of great future development.
“To double gross output like in Japan and Korea, Nigeria needs to attain about a seven per cent growth rate, which it has attained, and to double per capita income (income per head), it needs to grow at about nine per cent, which I believe it will attain soon,” Sachs stated.
According to Sachs, there were five things working for the country in terms of development, including the facts that reforms were being consolidated; the fact that democracy is being consolidated and the fact that the beginning of the president’s term offers immesurable opportunities.
The other two factors, according to the UN economist, were that world markets were on Nigeria’s side and the fact that technology was also on the side of the country’s further development.
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