"Manufacturing Is Key To FG’s Economic Strategy" — Prof. Yemi Osinbajo

Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday said that the manufacturing sector is at the centre of the federal government’s strategy for attaining sustainable growth and fulfilling its promise to lift 100 million people out of poverty over the next ten years.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of a joint event, the 5th edition of the Nigeria Manufacturing and Equipment Expo (NME) and the 6th edition of the Nigerian Raw Materials Expo (NIRAM) of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Osinbajo said no other sector provides a stronger linkage to creating new jobs, improving value addition and creating wealth for 50 per cent of Nigeria’s workforce beside the agricultural sector, adding that the country is at a crucial point in its economic history as a nation.

He stated: “We stand on the brink of the fourth industrial revolution, a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work and relate with one another.

“Also imminent is the emergence of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), an agreement that would change the way the positioning of the Nigerian market and the way trade is carried out in Africa.”

Osinbajo who was represented by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Chief Niyi Adebayo, added that Nigeria is gearing up to take advantage of these changes but the challenges that remain are significant.

President of MAN, Engr. Mansur Ahmed, said the theme of the Expo is informed by the observed global trends and current development experienced in some developing nations, which have used industrialization as a growth tool to drive and transform their economy as well as improve their standards of living.