FG targets $100bn from non-oil sector by 2028

…As CBN ranks Zenith Bank highest in non-oil export support

By Blaise Udunze

THE Federal Government has disclosed that the non-oil sector would generate about $100 billion in export earn­ings in the next 12 years.
The Executive Director/ CEO, Nigerian Export Pro­motion Council (NEPC), Olusegun Awolowo, dis­closed this yesterday at the Zenith Bank International Trade Seminar themed, “Ex­porting for Growth: Opportu­nities in Non-oil Export.”
He disclosed that NEPC, which is an agency of gov­ernment solely responsible for the non-oil exports has mapped out “The Zero Oil Plan” to replace oil as the ma­jor national foreign exchange earner, by growing this seg­ment of the economy from $8 billion (2019), $25 billion (2025), and eventually be­tween $70 and $100 billion in the next 12 to 15 years.
Awolowo, however, hinted that as part of strategy to boost the sector, NEPC has imple­mented rigorous screening criteria to map out the most promising non-oil export sec­tors for Nigeria, which would be reviewed periodically.
According to him, sectors to replace Nigeria’s crude oil exports must be carefully selected to ensure that suffi­cient income can be earned to replace lost national revenues within a reasonable invest­ment cycle.
The NEPC boss further explained that the three ma­jor criteria were selected for the “Zero Oil Plan” for Cat­egory A products were to be focused on “size of the prod­uct/sector traded internation­ally, which is based on the financial value, relative ease of operating in the sector, and comparative advantage within Nigeria.”
He stated that there is a strategy that challenges all 36 states of the federation to develop at least one key ex­portable product through the value chain based on their comparative advantage, as the nation is endowed with several unharnessed solid minerals.
Also speaking at the event, GMD/CEO of Zenith Bank, Peter Amangbo, expressed the commitment of the bank to build non-oil export service excellence in the trade and in­vestment sectors, as a means to enhance the performance of the economy as it seeks re­covery, stability and growth.
He stated that Nigeria is faced with the urgent task of improving its Balance of Trade (BoT) by focusing on the non-oil exports since the sharp drop in oil prices in the international commodities market has redirected the na­tion’s attention on the vulner­ability of the economy.
Amangbo observed the value of the total non-oil ex­port performance during the period between 2013 and 2015 took a dip, although the fundamentals show that in­creasing non-oil exports will serve to pull the economy into recovery, create millions of jobs, while contributing to the development of many states.
CBN Deputy Director, Trade and Exchange Depart­ment, Mr. W. D. Gotring, said Zenith Bank ranks highest among non-oil export partici­pating banks.