The Federal Government has revealed the plans in the offing to stop the importation of petroleum products by 2018.
This was made known by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Agangang during a visit to a company in Lagos state.
Aganga stated that with the ongoing government Industrial Revolution Plan which started in the year 2012, Nigeria will stop the importation of refined petroleum products by 2018.
He said, “There are many sectors we should have developed over the years, but for decades, we relied entirely on exporting raw materials. That era has gone. That was why this administration launched the Industrial Revolution plan in 2012. We have started it already, and you can see it in the auto, the sugar, and the cotton and textile industries.“If this investment goes according to plan; then by 2018, we will no longer import petroleum products into this country. We can no longer be a country that is import-dependent, especially in products we can produce ourselves. Nigeria has a comparative advantage in the agro-industrial, mining-related and petroleum sectors.While stressing that the nation spends much on importation, Aganga maintained that a pause on the importation would help boost the nation’s economy.
“Stopping the importation of oil will save us a minimum of $10bn. We have spent about $3bn importing steel. We spent about $6bn importing cars and spare parts. We spent about $1.7bn importing sugar, but we can in fact grow sugar cane in this country, said Aganga.
He added, “As part of the industrial revolution plan, we have also identified 13 products that will replace oil. These are areas where Nigeria has comparative advantage and export capacity. Mexico did it in seven years. We can also start and diversify our economy and revenue sources.”
The minister who apparently encourages local production of products had recently commended the management of Innoson Vehicles Company (IVC) for producing the first ever made in Nigeria cars.
