The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, has said the economic policies of the President Bola Tinubu administration are beginning to improve Nigeria’s economic outlook.
Enikanolaiye said the reforms were contributing to greater price stability and steady economic growth, while the Federal Government continued efforts to strengthen the country’s productive sector.
The minister spoke yesterday in Bauchi at a sensitisation workshop on the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS), organised for businesses across the North-East.
He said the government’s economic focus was shifting towards boosting local production, adding value to raw materials and creating employment opportunities for the country’s growing population.
“We want to focus on industrial value addition,” Enikanolaiye said, stressing that a stronger productive base would enable Nigeria to produce more and create jobs.
He said the government was also working to ensure that the country’s foreign policy produced practical benefits for Nigerians, particularly business owners and entrepreneurs.
According to him, the ETLS awareness campaign was designed to expose Nigerian businesses to opportunities within the ECOWAS market and help them position themselves to benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Enikanolaiye said the Federal Government would take the sensitisation programme to all six geopolitical zones, beginning with the North-East and culminating in a national event in Abuja.
He said greater participation in regional trade would enable Nigerian companies to expand their markets, increase production and contribute more significantly to the economy.
The minister also said the government’s economic reforms had brought relative stability to the foreign exchange market, while the country’s foreign reserves were nearing $40 billion.
In his welcome address, Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, represented by his Deputy Governor, Auwal Jatau, pledged the state’s support for the ETLS initiative, saying it could help diversify the economy and expand opportunities for young people.
The governor said government could not create sustainable prosperity alone, and called for stronger support for businesses to invest, produce and create jobs.
