Nigerians yet to understand Free Trade Zones concept – JIME’
The Managing Director of Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), Emmanuel Jime, has said the majority of Nigerians, including sistergovernment agencies, do not understand the concept of Free Trade Zones (FTZs), pointing out that only a massive public awareness programme can remedy the situation.
A statement from Head, Corporate Communications, NEPZA, Simon Imobo-Tswam said Jime spoke when eminent Benue sons in politics and the professions paid him a courtesy call in his office at the weekend. He explained that his familiarization tours of FTZs across the country as well as his interactions with key stakeholders since assumption of office have confirmed his position.
He regretted that decades after the advent of the FTZ concept, NEPZA was still at the level of explaining its mission to Nigerians when it should be concentrating its energies on its core-mandate of economic diversification and fasttracking the nation’s industrial development.
Speaking further, the NEPZA helmsman said: “The misunderstanding or ignorance about our mandate is a serious matter. It even extends to the legal framework that defines our scope and guides our operations. And because of this pervasive misunderstanding, our work is meeting with needless frustrations or bottlenecks.
“And it doesn’t help matters at all that even those who should know about the mechanics or the dynamics of the Free Zone innovation and should be helping us to achieve its mandate of accelerating industrial growth are among the critical stakeholders that need being enlightened about who we are, why we are doing what we are doing and why they should be cooperating with us rather than what appears to be the competition that we are seeing.”
On the way forward, the managing director said the Authority was planning a roundtable, where all stakeholders would brainstorm and fashion a workable formula that frees the FTZs to model those of China and other Asian countries. SEPLAT Petroleum Development Company Plc has prioritised expansion of the domestic natural gas business to improve on its revenue.
Briefing shareholders during the company’s 4th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Lagos, Chief Executive Officer, Austin Avuru, explained that Seplat prioritised expansion of its domestic natural gas business which provided a revenue stream that was de-linked from the oil price, and underpinned by the strong fundamentals of high demand and increasing pricing.
In his notes on the 2017 results, Avuru admitted the difficult operating environment of 2016. He stated that in addition to a difficult global oil market backdrop, Seplat business had had to contend with unprecedented operational challenges due to interruptions, and that these were reflected in the company’s full year results.
He said: “Whilst force majeure at the Forcados terminal has materially affected our oil production, I am particularly pleased to see the growth in our gas business which in 2016 exceeded the $100 million revenue milestone, demonstrating its robustness and providing a solid base from which to grow. It is easy to forget that in 2013 gas revenue were only $18 million, which shows how far we have come”.