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How Nigeria can come out of economic downturn

By Kelvin Ebiri (South-South Bureau Chief)
14 September 2016   |   3:56 am
Hope for the revival of the Nigerian economy has been hinged on stoppage of crude oil export and concentration on the production of refined petroleum products for export.
David Ibiyeomie

David Ibiyeomie

Hope for the revival of the Nigerian economy has been hinged on stoppage of crude oil export and concentration on the production of refined petroleum products for export.

The Presiding Pastor of Salvation Ministries, Port Harcourt, David Ibiyeomie, who made this suggestion, said Nigeria’s economy ought not to be in recession if the political leadership had since the discovery of crude oil commercial quantity not concentrated on the export of crude oil, which is susceptible to global politics.
Ibiyeomie stated this at the 2016 International Youth Convention, which held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State with the theme: “Youth Empowerment”.

He said the reason the Nigerian economy relapsed into recession was because the country had over the years, focused on exporting all her crude oil instead of concentrating on refining and exporting the over 6000 by products that could be derived from crude oil.

The pastor observed that although the price of crude oil had crashed from over $100 per barrel three years ago to about $47, the price of petroleum by products such as diesel and petrol in Nigeria and many other countries.

“In Nigeria the reason why there is recession is because Nigeria does not produce petroleum by products for export. There is no known by product of crude oil that the price has come down. So, Nigeria should stop exporting her crude oil and refine them locally. The government should concentrate on production of crude oil by products for export. The economy will bounce back and jobs will be created,” he said.

Ibiyeomie, who argued that it was preposterous to describe Nigeria as a poor country given her immense economic potentials, attributed the poor performance of the economy over the years to a political class that lacked capacity to galvanise the country’s vast resources for the advancement of all.

He noted that crude oil in its natural state does not have much value compared to when it is processed; hence, it was not economically wise for Nigeria to concentrate solely on crude oil export.

He urged the Federal Government to stop exporting all the country’s crude oil and refine them for export, saying that, if it invested in the processing and exporting of at least 1000 of the by products derived from crude or export, the economy will be expeditiously revived and the value of the Naira will be strengthen against other international currencies.

Ibiyeomie also called on the government to emulate the United States of America and China, on how they have managed their petroleum industries, noting that the United States strategically imports crude which is in turned refined into gasoline for domestic consumption, while the other products are exported

Similarly, he said though China is not reckoned to be an oil producing country, yet, it has industries that produce up to 1000 byproducts of crude oil, which are exported.

He noted that if Nigeria had invested in the development of industries that refine oil domestically and it byproducts, these would have served as major foreign exchange earner for the country and the current recession would have been averted.

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