The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has greenlit the establishment of the Presidential Council on Industrial Revitalisation Roadmap aimed at boosting industrial growth and investment in Nigeria.
Doris Uzoka-Anite, Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, disclosed this development during a press briefing at the State House on Monday.
According to Uzoka-Anite, the council, to be chaired by President Bola Tinubu, will oversee ten subcommittees tasked with evaluating policies and frameworks within various ministries and agencies.
The primary objective is to streamline efforts and develop a comprehensive industrial revival strategy aligned with the president’s eight-point agenda.
“We have a lot of policies, frameworks, and guidelines that should help to revitalize the industries within these different ministries and agencies,” Uzoka-Anite stated.
“And we’re supposed to collaborate and come up with a 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 emphasized Tinubu’s N1 trillion GDP target as a driving force behind the concerted effort to stimulate industrial growth, particularly in the SME sector and across various industries.
Among the key areas of focus are consumer credit, commodity exchange, heavy industries, steel development, trade facilitation, ease of doing business, licensing, certification of artisans, mining, solid minerals, oil and gas, and creative industries.
The minister further revealed that the council dissolved subcommittees on defence, industries, and pharmaceuticals while approving a committee to review the setup of the free trade zones. The committee will be responsible for proposing reforms that aim to maximize the economic benefits of free trade zones and special economic zones through streamlined setups, incentives, and regulatory frameworks.