Nigeria’s N50billion Export Expansion Facility Programme gains steam
The Federal Government’s N50billion Export Expansion Facility Programme under the supervision of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council is gaining steam, according to the Executive Director/CEO of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) Mr Segun Awolowo.
Beneficiaries of the programme which is part of the Economic Sustainability Plan will receive grants for non-oil exports even as the Federal Government is also expected to leverage on ECOWAS Trade Promotions Organisations to boost trade volume.
Following the official launch of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Trade Promotion Organizations (TPO) Network on Friday, July 16 towards increasing the volume of trade within the region, Nigeria is poised to boost its non-oil exports leveraging the platform.
Awolowo, who is also the inaugural president of the ECOWAS TPOs and the NEPC is now repositioning the nation’s export through the implementation of its N50 billion Export Expansion Facility Programme (EEFP).
Another initiative under the purview of the vice president
Legit.ng gathered that the programme is a part of the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) whose development and implementation is being led by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
The EEFP is expected to significantly raise the volume of non-oil exports in Nigeria, and it’s a spin-off of the zero oil plan developed by Mr Awolowo and approved by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Besides providing financial support for the average Nigerian exporter, the EEFP is also going to see the establishment of top-notch warehouses in the country close to airports where Nigerian goods meant for export would be packaged to globally competitive standards ahead of their exportation.
The EEFP, in line with the federal government’s ESP, is focused on cushioning the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on non-oil export businesses, thereby safeguarding jobs and creating new ones.
How FG’s Economic Sustainability Plan has been helpful
Meanwhile, VP Osinbajo on Monday, July 5 declared that the federal government’s COVID-19 stimulus package has been helpful so far.
Osinbajo made the comment at a virtual meeting of the ESP committee measuring the implementation of the stimulus so far.
The vice president said the Nigerian economy did not degenerate as feared, adding that at least over 2 million jobs have been both created and saved with the implementation of the ESP.
Earlier this year, VP Osinbajo stated that the Buhari administration’s vision to lift at least 20 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next two years is now close at hand.
Osinbajo stated this on Tuesday, January 19 in Abuja during the virtual flag-off of a cash transfer scheme initiated by the federal government, adding that the programme will help the government achieve its aspiration.
