In a bid to boost non-oil exports, the Federal Government, FG, has said it is set to tackle regulatory and bureaucratic issues that are driving up cost of exports, making Nigerian goods uncompetitive in the global market.
Disclosing this at a ministerial export consultation session with Nigeria's top 100 exporters in Lagos, the Minister for Industry, Trade, and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, noted the longstanding bureaucratic inefficiencies, including conflicts among agencies such as the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) which burden manufacturers.
Oduwole emphasized the importance of exports in driving economic growth, creating jobs and enhancing foreign exchange earnings and called for collaboration amongst the agencies and exporters to make the economy work.
She encouraged exporters to take advantage of Nigeria's economic potential and pledged the government's commitment to creating an enabling environment for export growth.
"We're determined to make sure that the regulatory and bureaucratic challenges, which are well known to us coming from a public background, are systematically addressed.
"I'm here to support all the agencies under the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Nigerian exporters.
"The challenges, miscommunication, and overlapping duties that make things costlier for the private sector are nothing new to me.
"To not address these issues is to shoot ourselves in the foot and leave value on the table. The President, Bola Tinubu, has given me marching orders, and together with my colleagues, we will deliver this for the Nigerian economy.
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"We are also supporting Nigerian exporters of services, which is one of the lowest hanging fruits, for giving Nigerian youth the opportunity to earn foreign exchange while living in Nigeria by exporting their services". Also speaking, Director General of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Nonye Ayeni, highlighted efforts being made to simplify export processes.
She said NEPC had secured approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to include the CFA Franc in accepting export proceeds.
Ayeni, however, lamented that exporters currently need to fill out up to 23 documents to open a Non-Oil Export Support Programme account, but vowed to slash the figure with the backing of the minister of industry.
