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| Last Updated: Jan 19th, 2012 - 11:25:19 |
Wealth Creation
FG approves new policy on industrialisation, reviews EPA pact, others
Jan 24, 2008, 15:07
| | The Federal Government (FEC) has approved a new policy known as the Nigeria Industrial Development Strategy which proposes the cluster concept of industrialisation as a plank for development of the country's Small and Medium Enterprises (SMES) as a way of realising the vision 2020 strategy.
This is one of the outcomes of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting of chaired by Vice President Goodluck Jonathan on January 23 in Abuja, contained in the media briefing by the Minister of Information and Communications, Mr. John Odey, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Charles Ugwuh and Minister of State for Information and Communications, Alhaji Ibrahim Nakande.
The council also approved a study on the potential impact of the various support options for Nigeria under the status of the ongoing Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiation between Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Mauritania and the European Union (EU).
According to the minister of information and communications, the study would focus on the potential impact of the various support options for the new trade agreement with the EU. Which include, studies on the sensitive agricultural and industrial product, how to improve their competitiveness and on the impact assessment of the EPA on the country's economy and society compared with the EU sponsored study for the region.
Nigeria is negotiating the new agreement under the platform of ECOWAS. The EU and the 77 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries launched negotiation on the EPA on the platform of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement, which was signed in June 2003.
The EPA is supposed to replace the Lome Conventions. The trade agreement between the two parties had existed for 25 years and had hitherto allowed non-reciprocal free access to the ACP goods into the European markets.
Speaking further Mr Odey disclosed that approval has been given for an International Development Association (IDA) credit of about $46.65 million in support of the West and Central African Air Transport Safety and Security project, which has Nigerian component. This is to support West and Central African Air Transport Safety and Security projects in various airports in the two sub-regions.
According to him, the project when completed, will help to create a safe and secure environment in West and Central Africa that will allow African airlines to competitively access regional and worldwide market. This is expected to result in support of sustainable economic growth within the region. It will also improve Nigeria's Civil Aviation Authority's compliance with international civil aviation authority standard on air safety and security; and improve security at Abuja, Kano, Lagos and Port Harcourt International airports."
He said that the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigeria Airspace Management and Nigeria College of Aviation and Technology would implement the concessional facility, which has a repayment period of 40 years, including 10 years moratorium, under the overall co-ordination of the Federal Ministry of Transportation.
He noted that President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had already given anticipatory approval to the IDA credit for the improvement of the aviation and safety and security in the country.
Other approvals granted by the council according to Mr. Odey include,
1. The establishment of the Nigerian Council for Food Science and Technology aimed at effective co-ordination, control and supervision of wide range of activities in the nation's food sector. The body would be involved in the management of food-related matters. He assured that there would be no conflict or competition with the National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
2. President's anticipatory approval of the re-award of contract for the engineering procurement and construction of the 20 inches by 107-kilometre Calabar Adanga Gas Transmission Pipeline at a cost of N9, 867,845,40.90, with a completion period of 15 months.
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