FEC approves council on industrial revitalisation roadmap

The federal executive council (FEC) has approved the establishment of the presidential council on industrial revitalisation roadmap.

Addressing state house correspondents on the new council and its duties on Monday, Doris Uzoka-Anite, minister of industry, trade and investment, said the committee will be chaired by President Bola Tinubu, with 10 subcommittees.

Uzoka-Anite said the subcommittees will evaluate the policies within different ministries, including the ministry of industry, trade and investment.

“We have a lot of policies, frameworks and guidelines that should help to revitalise the industries within these different ministries and agencies,” she said. 

“And we’re supposed to collaborate and come up with single roadmap for each of these subcommittees or each of these roadmaps.

“And that is actually geared towards developing the full industrial revival of the economy in line with the eight-point agenda of Mr. President.”

She said the federal government expects a boost in investment in several industrial sectors.  

“We expect to see a boost in job creation and employment and a general increase in our indices, especially our GDP growth rates, which were said to be growing from 3.5% hopefully to 7%,” the minister said.

The minister said Tinubu’s N1 trillion gross domestic product (GDP) target spurred the decision to come up “with a roadmap to stimulate industrial growth, especially catalysing SME growth and in the whole industrial sectors”.

Uzoka-Anite listed the panel to include subcommittees on consumer credit, commodity exchange, heavy industries and steel development, as well as trade facilitation and ease of doing business. 

Other subcommittees are licensing and certification of artisans, trade facilitation and realisation, mining and solid minerals, oil and gas, and creative industries.

She said the subcommittees on defence, industries and pharmaceuticals were dissolved.

The council, according to the minister, also approved a committee to review the free trade zone setup.

Uzoka-Anite said the committee will look at the setup, incentives and laws to come up with reforms that will help to stimulate and catalyse the economic benefits of the free trade zones and special economic zones.