Sanwo- Olu Advocates Economic Diversification, Non- Oil Exports

LAGOSSTATE Governor, Babajide Sanwo- Olu, has called for economic diversification in Nigeria, saying that the country should shift from overdependence on oil and gas, to agricultural produce, solid minerals, chemical products, furniture and clothing as well as tourism, among others.

He also stressed the need for Nigeria to discourage over- reliance on mono- economic revenue, which is oil and scale up its exports, noting that a situation in which oil and gas consistently account for the bulk of government revenues and foreign exchange earnings, is not an ideal one.

Sanwo- Olu, who made the call at the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN) RT 200 Non- oil Export Summit in Lagos said Nigeria has so much potential to scale up its exports, shifting from over- dependence on oil and gas to agricultural produce, solid minerals, chemical products, furniture and clothing, among others.

Commending the CBN for organising a summit to promote non- oil exports in Nigeria, he said Lagos state is delighted to host the maiden edition of the strategic meeting.

He said: “Lagos State is home to the biggest and most important sea ports in the country. There cannot, therefore, be any conversations about growing non- oil exports in Nigeria, without bringing Lagos State and our transport and logistics infrastructure into the picture. This is why I am pleased that Lagos is hosting the maiden Summit.

“For us as a government, a lot of the work we have been doing and still doing is aimed at improving the state of transportation infrastructure, to enable imports and exports, and generally bring down the cost of doing business.