President
Muhammadu Buhari RTD (GCFR)
President
and Commander-In-Chief of Armed Forces of
Federal
Republic of Nigeria.
|
It is my singular honor and pleasure
to be in your midst today to address this distinguished gathering at the
opening ceremony of the First International Cocoa Summit taking place in our
nation’s capital, Abuja.
This event is another milestone in the nation’s
determined effort to diversify its economic base through aggressive production
and marketing drive. This initiative represents in itself the innovative
Nigerian spirit and determination to set our country on the path of true
economic diversification. This summit is an excellent initiative that will go
along way in opening the Nigerian economy to local and foreign investors 1while
encouraging strategic partnerships necessary for resuscitation of the cocoa
sub-sector of our economy.
The purpose of this summit is to
reposition the cocoa sub-sector to regain its lost glory and bring to the fore
the strategic importance of cocoa to our national economy in line with the
economic diversification policy of this Administration. This summit is therefore designed to be part
of this administration Agricultural commodity revolution with cocoa as one of
the main drivers, Cocoa is the second largest foreign exchange earner for
Nigeria after crude oil and has generated over 2 million jobs directly and
indirectly along its value chain. The sector has suffered neglect as a result
of over reliance on crude oil. This led to decline in countries annual
production from 420 Metric Tons in the 60s to 192,000 Metric tons in 2015. The
consequence is Nigeria’s drop from 4th to 7th position in
global cocoa production. The summit is therefore expected to address this trend
so as to put the country back to its prime position.
I understand that the theme of the
summit is “Cocoa a Strategic Commodity
for National Economic Development” which underpins the nucleus of the
present Administration’s Change Agenda that intends to continue with
policies aimed at diversifying the
Nigerian economy from a mono-economy depending almost entirely on revenue from
export of crude oil petroleum to Agriculture, Solid Mineral and Services. This
theme is very thoughtful and timely considering the significance of the cocoa
sub-sector to the growth of the economy. This theme demonstrates that the only
way to put the nation on the path of sustainable economic growth and
development is through the promotion of non-oil sector of our economy. There is
no doubt that this summit will serve as a veritable tool for key stakeholders
in the cocoa sub-sector to interact in a frank and pragmatic manner to discuss
the systemic, institutional and regulatory obstacles to the development of the
sector. It is my expectation that this
summit will proffer simple, practical and result-oriented solution that will
boost the consumption, marketing and growth of the sub-sector and to ensure
that Nigeria reclaims its prime position among cocoa producing nations in the
world. This administration believes in the central role of the organized
private sectors as the engine of growth of the economy and will therefore work
towards strengthening the productive sectors of the economy, developing an
outward looking export promotion strategy and ensure a steady progression in
the development of the agriculture sector of the economy.
Ladies and Gentle men, as a Government
we understand the need of our domestic producers to operate and compete
favourably with their counterparts from other climes. In this regards,
Government is working hard to improve the business environment for both local
and foreign investors as well as encouraging the development of Domestic
Consumption. I want to urge you all to join hands with the Federal
Government to improve the production and
export base of our economy by increasing production, processing, packaging and
marketing of our non-oil export commodities. Let me assure you that the Federal
Government is committed to restoring the agricultural and industrial sector to
its prime position before the discovery of crude oil. I therefore wish to use this
occasion to call all stakeholders to support and key into government policy of
promotion of non-oil export as an alternative source of revenue. If all hands
are on deck, the policy will not only boost our country’s economic growth and
development but will serve as a road-map towards genuine industrialization and
integration of our economy with other developed economies of the world. My
Administration is ever ready to implement the decisions of the summit that will
accelerate the economy growth of the nation and assist in the realization of
the economic diversification policy of the Government. The Government under my
watch will continue to demonstrate its commitment in providing favorable
incentives for the development of both local entrepreneurship and inflow of
foreign direct investment. I wish to assure you that the implementation of our
reforms on the Ease Of Doing Business will be the back bone for the re-positioning of the cocoa sub-sector in Nigeria.
There is doubt that Nigeria is long
overdue to make the shift from being primarily an exporter of commodities and
raw materials, to becoming an industrial economy. Our industrialization
ambition is hinged on the Nigerian Industrialization Revolution Plan (NIRP),
lunched by previous government in 2014. It is now our obligation to implement
that plan alongside the Economic Recovery
and Growth Plan (ERGP) in view of current realities. To this end, we are
focusing on identifying and supporting a select number of industrial sectors in
which Nigeria has comparative advantage. I hereby call on all relevant
stakeholders in Agriculture, Industry and other productive sectors of the
economy to strive to achieve higher standards seek local and foreign markets
and show the world that Nigeria can achieve excellence like other developed
countries. Let me also sieve this opportunity to appeal to all Nigerians to
patronize Made-In-Nigeria goods and services as a way of encouraging our
industrialists to grow the economy.
It is my fervent hope therefore that
the gains of the Summit and the exposure that will be acquired would to a large
extent assist us to move the Nigerian economy to an enviable height. The
challenges are no doubt very daunting but equally surmountable. With your
support and resilience, we should be able to offer the best to the world
through the development of the various sector of our sectors of our economy,
using the right technology as well as conforming with the rules and best practices. It is my expectation
that the end of the summit, more foreign investors will flood our country to
take full advantage of the abundant investment opportunities available in
Nigeria, given the conducive economic environment and package of incentives
provided by the Government. I urge all of you participating in this summit to
use the event as a vehicle to instill confidence in local and foreign investors
to invest in the Nigerian economy and create a more robust and better
competitive market for the cocoa sub-sector.
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, I
would like to command the organizers and sponsors of this summit for their hard
work, diligence and the excellent arrangements put in place to make this event
a huge success. I would also seize this
opportunity to welcome the leadership of the ICCO and Afrexim Bank together
with our foreign participants, Resource Persons, Speakers and Discussants to
this August occasion. I also acknowledge the role of our various development
partners in making this event a success.
On this note, it is my privilege and honor to declare the first Nigeria International Cocoa Summit open.
I thank you all and wish you fruitful
deliberations.
President
Muhammadu Buhari RTD (GCFR)
President
and Commander-In-Chief of Armed Forces of
Federal
Republic of Nigeria.
28th
August, 2017.
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