NEPC canvasses accelerated development of non-oil sector

The Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Olusegun Awolowo, has reiterated commitment towards a zero-oil economy, to be hinged on accelerated development of the non-oil sector with a view to expanding and increasing availability of high quality Nigerian products and services globally.

Awolowo, who was recently re-appointed, said the move will be enhanced by the full implementation of the Zero-Oil pillar of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan buoyed by the recently launched National Economic Council Committee on Export Promotion.

He gave the assurance yesterday in Abuja.while speaking to Journalist shortly resumption as the Chief Executive Officer of NEPC following his re-appointment for a second term tenure of four years by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Awolowo said that to further achieve the new vision for the country, the Council will work with the National Assembly to modernise or review it’s Act to be able to scale it up to date in line with modern realities.

He said that so long as the nation has decided to look forward to alternative sources of revenue earnings away from Oil, there is no stopping for the council to achieve the feat.

“I say, it all the time, the Nigerian economy has already been diversified, in fact, we have achieved about 80 percent diversification, but the problem is that we have not earned enough foreign exchange from the diversification, we presently earn foreign exchange from the export of crude oil, which still stands at 90 percent, and that is because we rely much on crude.”

He however said the success story is that government has taken the production, and processing of cashew exports from the 130 metric tonnes (MT) four years ago to 200,000MT, just as NEPC is working on a two-legged approach to achieve good success by raising production.

He said the Council will also go into processing because the nation cannot continue to export raw materials, as it must begin to earn more foreign exchange from the non-oil export for the country.