Nigeria to Save N3.6trn by Reducing Importation

• Nigeria to Save N3.6trn by Reducing Importation

The Federal Government can save up to N3.6 trillion by reducing the size of its imports in the next 36 months.

Dr Ogbonnay Onu, the Minister of Science and Technology, made the disclosure during the 32nd Convocation Lecture of the University of Port Harcourt on Thursday.

The minister further said a substantial reduction in the consumption of foreign goods and services would help create at least 4.4 million jobs in Nigeria.

Onu, who delivered a lecture on ‘Science and Technology as a Driver of Economic Recovery and Growth Plan of a Nation’ explained that the country had a huge potential in the textile and leather industry.

It should also be recalled that the Central Bank of Nigeria recently restricted importers of textile materials from accessing foreign exchange, saying that the move would stimulate growth in the industry.

This was after similar action improved rice production in the country and catapulted Nigeria to the top of the ladder as the largest rice producer in Africa.

The minister said, “Nigeria stands to save N3.6tn if they reduce importation of goods and services for three years. About 4.4 million jobs will be created. All efforts made in the past to industrialise the nation has not yielded any result.

“I believe that if we are able to revamp the leather and textile industries, they will go a long way to grow the economy. I am convinced that no nation has ever, and will ever become truly great without effectively utilising science and technology.

“This is because the economic development of any nation depends on the effective and efficient utilisation of its natural resources so as to take care of her people’s basic needs.

“In other to achieve this, the citizens must understand the laws of nature and are able to put them into practice by devising appropriate tools, hence acquiring science and technology with continuous innovation should be vigorously pursued by any nation particularly in its institutions of higher learning.”