NACCIMA hails sugarcane-to-sugar revolution

The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has hailed the outcome of the backward integration policy of the Federal Government, which has led to fresh $3 billion investment in sugarcane-to-sugar revolution as well as about $8 billion in cement industry.

“The implementation of the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan is already yielding good results. An example is the success stories recorded in the cement industry, through the Backward Integration Programme,’’ said Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, national president, NACCIMA, during the just concluded Kaduna International Trade Fair.

“Nigeria attracted over $3 billion of new investments in the sugar-to-sugarcane industry in 2013, consolidated its position in the cement sector, which has now attracted $8 billion aggregate till date and is supporting 1.6 million Nigerian jobs,’’ he said.

He further stated that the advent of globalisation had brought serious competitiveness in the global market, adding that policy makers must be prepared to demonstrate the political will and sincerity needed to propel the agro-industrial and manufacturing concerns, if Nigeria was preparing to join the league of the 20 most industrialised nations of the world by the year 2020.

According to him, there was an urgent need for the government to bring the much talked about enabling environment consistent with global trend, stressing the need to diversify and increase export of high value-added agro-allied and manufactured products that depend on the natural resources, of which Nigeria had comparative advantage.

“Government should also ensure the removal of procedural and regulatory bottlenecks incompatible with the attainment of the objectives of a dynamic export promotional policy,’’ he stated.