President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has assured that the federal government of Nigeria is committed towards harnessing power of trade as a panacea for industrial growth, development and prosperity of the country.
The president through the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf M. Tuggar Tuggar stated this in Awka, Anambra state capital, during a sensitisation workshop on ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS), an initiative geared towards enhancing cooperation and integration in trade and economic stability within the region.
The minister, represented by Ambassador Obinna Onowu, urged businessmen and businesswomen, including organised private sector in Southeast geopolitical zone to enroll into the scheme with a view to booming their businesses and growing the economy.
“By embracing the ETLS, together we will pave the way for Nigerian companies to thrive in the regional market, thereby boosting the influx of foreign exchange and fortifying our economic resilience. It represents an ideal opportunity to foster greater economic integration, and unlock the immense potential of intra-regional trade,” he added.
In their various contributions, the governor of Anambra State, Professor Chukwuma Soludo represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr Ernest Ezeajughi and his Ebonyi State counterpart, Rt. Hon. Francis Nwifuru, represented by the State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mr Oguzor Offia Nwali assured commitment of the zone towards harnessing ELTS and other government initiatives for economic growth.
“We are willing to participate on anything that is transpersnt and promote business friendly. We must promote all policies to ensure that our integral policies and economic instability can be reversed as gain exposure and export our existing frameworks,” Soludo added.
Earlier, in presentations, the Head of ECOWAS Unit in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Zack Yohanna disclosed that there are numerous business windows and opportunities for the zone to key into.
The Assistant Director, ECOWAS National Unit, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja, Mary Ozonwanji said member states of ECOWAS have access to free trade without paying duty, tax or custom duties. She asked manufacturers to take advantage of this free trade to expand the sales of their products, and in return, grow the economy of the Easterners who are well known for their enterprenuership.
“Innoson is part of it whose company is listed under ETLS. This is why you have his vehicles going out of Nigeria to Ghana, Togo, Ivory Coast, Guinea Bissau and most countries who are part of ECOWAS to have their manufacturers send their products to all the ECOWAS member States.
“We have done this in Lagos, Kano but this is the first time we are having it in the South East and we are hopeful that this will yield more profits for the State, zone and the entire Nigeria. And we hope to come again as a follow-up because we believe that we are going to attract more people from this region to be part this ETLS”, Ozonwanji concluded.
Responding, Mrs Kadiri Halima from National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) assured commitment of the agency in promoting the wellbeing of Nigerians.###
