Expert offers solution to economic problem

An export consultant in Jos, Mr. Kola Awe, says non-oil export is the way out of the nation's economic problem.

He said this at a workshop organized by the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) for youth entrepreneurs in Plateau on Wednesday.

The event is entitled "Export Hand-holding Program for Youth Entrepreneurs in Plateau State."

Awe, the resource person at the workshop, cited the current poverty level in the country, the inflation rate, and the current fiscal and monetary policies as indicators of a dwindling economy.

He urged the federal government to accelerate the non-oil export sector with a focus on product development, finance, infrastructure, and access to markets as a means of enhancing exports in Nigeria.

"What the federal government of Nigeria should do is stimulate the non-oil export sector in the areas of product development, infrastructure, finance, and access to markets."

"These key areas should be treated as a do-or-die matter because, as it is in the country today, you can see what the exchange rate is doing right now."

"The only sector that has the capacity to take us out of these doldrums is the non-oil export sector; that's the only sector."

"That's why the Nigerian Export Promotion Council has been chanting the phrase Export for Survival," he said.

He, therefore, called on youths to brace up to the challenges of the time and be more determined to fight their cause in terms of a better economy through export.

Similarly, Mr. Samson Idowu, Regional Coordinator of NEPC, noted that the Plateau "is abundantly blessed with export potential, and there's no better time than now to promote exports, especially when the exchange rate is skyrocketing against the naira."

"We hope that youths and other potential exporters on the Plateau will key into this renewed effort to promote exports so that we can all be better off for it."

"You know, we cannot wait for a better time to promote exports than now that the exchange rate is skyrocketing against the naira.

"The emphasis now is that we should export so that we can all survive, and interestingly, we have a lot of abundant opportunities on the Plateau."

"We call on exporters, youths, and women alike to key into these opportunities so that they can become employers of labor rather than remain job seekers," he said.

Mrs. Rahila Baba and Ebunoluwa David, both beneficiaries at the event, expressed satisfaction for the quality of explanation they received from the resource person, saying that they are better equipped than they were before the workshop.

They thanked NEPC for organising the event while promising to utilise the knowledge received for the betterment of their lives and the society at large.

Supreme reports that the event, which featured several training sessions, culminated in clusters of potential exporters who will be mentored by the resource person to achieve their vision in the export business.