By Mike Jones
AUCHI/Nigeria: The Nigerian Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo has said the federal government takes the involvement of the private sector in developing the Nigerian business seriously.
The Vice President was speaking in Auchi, Edo state South south Nigeria, during the commissioning of the rehabilitated state-owned fertilizer plant, stated that the clear objective of establishing the plant is to boost farming activities and the agric value chain nationwide. This investment is a direct response to the Federal Government’s strategy of growing the Nigerian economy on a zero oil assumption.
He said that Agriculture a well-known, but abandoned pathway to the economic diversification and national prosperity of the nation.
“The fundamental constraint to optimizing agriculture is access to inputs, fertilizer being a fundamental input. On the average, a Nigerian farmer uses 13kg per hectare of fertilizer compared with world average of 100kg per hectare”.
Speaking further, he said the commissioning of the plant is explains why the president negotiated the December 2016 Fertilizer initiative, working with the Moroccan King, aimed at achieving local production of 1 million metric tons of NPK fertilizer for 2017 wet season farming. Reducing costs and delivering finished products at N5000-5500 per bag (formerly between N8-9,000 sometimes N13,000).
“This, again, is an enterprise that will create at least 500 direct jobs and several more indirect jobs. It will bring us closer to self-sufficiency in fertilizer production and, perhaps most importantly, boost food production and reduce food prices, ultimately enhancing food security in Nigeria”. He said.
He said the plant to a large extent will make import unnecessary, as it will help to conserve the hard earned foreign exchange.
“It is the private sector that can do so. We are therefore committed to making it easy for businessmen to invest and do business everywhere in Nigeria”.
Prof Osinbajo used the occasion to call on States and Local Government to be involved in the effort to ensure that private businesses thrive and create employment opportunity for the growing youth population.
“By harnessing private capital and the great entrepreneurial spirit of Nigerians, I believe we can seriously leverage government resources and accelerate economic development”.
