ANLCA President raises alarm:
*Says Nigeria’s export sector in Comatose
*Urges FG to map out strategic policies for export
By Silas Onuoha:
ANLCA President :
The National President, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Mr Iju Tony Nwabunike, has said that Nigeria’s export sub-sector is currently in comatose, following the devastating effect of Coronavirus outbreak in the nation and the global economy.
Nwabunike, who spoke with Maritime Journalists in Lagos, raised alarm on the inactive state of export in the country since the outbreak of the pandemic, saying urgent measures are needed to revamp the sector for economic activities to thrive.
He went on, “Aside from export, where nothing is happening at the moment, the import sub-sector is equally affected, because import activities going on in the country right now are skeletal.
“I am calling on the Federal Government to map out strategic policies that can be used to resuscitate export businesses in Nigeria.”
Speaking further, the ANLCA President explained that for government to succeed in diversifying the economy to non-oil sectors for more income flow, the export sub-sector must be well repositioned for new windows of investments to spring up.
According to him, “Export is an import sub-sector that government needs to revive, in order to increase foreign exchange earnings for the economy”.
Responding to questions on the way forward, he advised government to give incentives to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to thrive and expand their investments in various sectors including export.
He explained that aside from active participation in export activities, SMEs can also support government’s effort in creating jobs for the citizens.
His assertion: “Before COVID-19 outbreak, unemployment rate was very high in the country, especially among youths. So, with thousands of job losses brought upon the economy following the effect of this pandemic, more should be done in the area of job creation”.
