By Florence Israel, Abuja
The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs. Aisha Abubakar, has said the sum of about N7 trillion was spent on the importation of consumables and household items into Nigeria in 2015.
In her address in Kano on Friday at a stakeholders meeting on “Buy Made-in- Nigeria Products”, organised by her ministry in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Mrs Abubakar said the staggering amount being spent on importation of goods is unacceptable to the present administration hence the national orientation to change the perception of Nigerians towards patronizing locally made products.
“In 2015 alone, over N6.7 trillion was spent on the importation of goods and services for which the nation can produce locally. N1.09 trillion was reportedly spent on imported foods and drinks; N1.5 trillion on spare-parts; N123.01 billion on shoes and clothes and N399 billion on household items. Imagine if this had been spent on our local industries,” she stated.
Mrs Abubakar said in government’s determination to encourage the patronage of Made-in-Nigeria products by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo signed the Executive Order 3 aimed at ensuring that 40 percent goods procured by government agencies are made locally.
She therefore urged Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSME) to register on the website of the Bureau for Public Procurement to enable them to take advantage of the provisions of the Executive Order 3.
“Also in pursuant of the Federal Government’s commitment to the support for Made-in-Nigeria Initiative, the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, signed on the 18th May 2017, Executive Order 3. As part of the implementation of the Executive Order 3, Made-in-Nigeria products shall be given preference in the procurement of the following items: Uniforms and footwear, food and beverages, stationary, motor vehicles, pharmaceuticals, construction materials and information and communication technology and at least 40% of the procurement expenditure on these items in all MDAs of the Federal Government of Nigeria shall be locally manufactured goods and service providers,” she said.
