FG set to boost domestic trade

LAGOS (Ministry of Industry, Trade & Investment Report)

The Federal Government has re-affirmed its commitment to facilitating the growth and development of domestic trade across the country. The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga gave the assurance during a Town Hall Meeting with traders in the South – West geo-political region in Lagos lately.

The meeting which was attended by traders and representatives of market associations from Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti States as well as representatives of the Nigeria Customs Service, Immigration and the Police was necessitated by the recognition of the importance of domestic trade in achieving its inclusive and sustainable economic growth and development in line with President Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda.

“This is the first – ever town hall meeting and the first in the series that the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment will be organizing frequently as part of the deliberate strategy to develop and grow domestic trade across the country. As part of the domestic trade strategy, the Federal Government wants to bring policy formulation and implementation down to the grassroots and ensure that traders are carried along,” he said.

“Statistics have shown that domestic trade has a strategic role to play in achieving inclusive and sustainable growth and development in the country. After the re-basing of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, agriculture contributes about 22 percent to the GDP; industrial sector contributes about 26 percent, while the services sector accounts for about 52 percent. When you look at the services sector’s contribution, retail and wholesale trade is about one third of that 52 percent.”

The Minister added that the Federal Government would partner with traders and other regional organisations to provide the environment conducive for the development of domestic trade. He reiterated that Nigerians are very enterprising and hardworking people; saying they all need the enabling environment.

According to him, the job of the Government is to provide them with the enabling environment to do their businesses so that they can create jobs and drive inclusive and sustainable economic growth and development. In order to achieve this, we are working both with State Governments and ECOWAS to tackle the bottlenecks inhibiting free movement of goods across the country and the sub-region.

Speaking during the meeting, the National Co-ordinator of the Traders’ Rights Protection Initiative, Christopher Okpala commended the Nigerian Government for organizing the interactive town hall meeting; adding that there is an urgent need for the Government to come up with legislation towards protecting local traders.

He said, “We want to thank the Minister of Trade and Investment for organizing the first – ever Town Hall meeting with us. This meeting has given us a sense of belonging by involving us in government policies and implementation initiatives. However, there is the need for the Ministry through collaboration with relevant agencies, traders and the National Assembly to come up with the legislation that would protect traders in their local markets as well as daily transactions anywhere in Nigeria.

“There is also the need for the Ministry and all relevant government parastatals and agencies with the active involvement of foreign missions to develop a template that will ensue that the Nigerian trader is protected abroad. In addition to this, we want the government to whittle down the excesses of law enforcement agencies against the average trader.”