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Tag: Olusegun Aganga

  • EPA: African leaders support Nigeria’s no deal position

    EPA: African leaders support Nigeria’s no deal position

    • Resolve to protect continent’s economy

    African Trade Ministers and experts on Trade and Regional Integration are aligned with Nigeria’s position on the trade liberalisation deal with the European Union under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), saying the European Union’s position, if adopted, will have long-term negative impact on the continent’s efforts towards industrialisation and job creation.

    The ministers spoke yesterday during the Extra-Ordinary Session of the Conference of African Union (AU) Ministers of Trade in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, convened to discuss Africa’s common position ahead of the October 1 deadline for signing of the EPA with EU; the establishment of the Common Free Trade Area (CFTA) by 2015; extension of African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) by the American Government for 15 more years, and Africa’s strategic response to World Trade Organisation negotiations, among others.

    While reiterating Nigeria’s position on EPA, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investmen,Olusegun Aganga, said: “Nigeria’s position on EPA is very clear. Africa is on the rise. It is a very big and strategic market for any trading partner. That is what the EU wants from us but Africa must jealously protect what it has.

    In a statement, the Senior Special Assistant (Corporate Communication) to the Minister, Mrs. Yemi Kolapo,  quoted  Aganga as urging African Trade Ministers to leverage “our abundant natural resources and large market to develop our industries; create jobs for our people; increase intra-African trade and achieve regional integration. We must not be in a hurry to give away what we have. We must not sign an agreement without first of all carrying out a robust economic analysis of the overall impact the agreement will have on the region, our children and future generations”.

    Zambian Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Mr. Robert Sichinga, said he agreed with Nigeria’s position, noting that rather than jeopardising their industrialisation and job creation drive by hastily signing the EPA, African countries should work towards enhancing regional integration and intra-African Trade through value addition of their abundant raw materials, “especially in the areas where they have competitive and comparative advantage”.

    He said: “Just like Nigeria has pointed out, before we sign the EPA, we should consider the impact on our children and the future of the continent in terms of industrialisation, job creation and regional integration. I want to state that as long as we have not appended our signatures to the agreement, then there is no agreement. Also, I believe that it is better not to sign an agreement at all than to sign a bad one.”

    The AU Commissioner for Trade and Industry, Mr. Fatima Haram, also agreed that signing the EPA would have a negative impact on Africa’s industrialisation, job creation and regional integration of African countries.

    Haram said: “Just as Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, has pointed out, industrialisation is an issue that is very critical to the economic and political survival of African countries. If we sign the EPA as it is today, it is going to be difficult for us to integrate because of different Custom Areas.

    “Let us be realistic and look at our statistics. The population of Africa is growing very rapidly. Statistics shows that more than 50 per cent of our population are between 18 and 30 years. If we sign the EPA, how do we create the jobs that we require for our growing population; how do we stop the illegal migration of our youths to developed countries?”

    Similarly, the Minister of Trade and Private Sector Promotion, Republic of Niger, Mr. Alma Oumarou, said there was the need for African countries to evaluate the impact of EPA before signing.

  • FG to enforce standards in cement industry

    FG to enforce standards in cement industry

    The Federal Government is to improve supervision and enforcement standards for the cement industry to check the growing incidence of collapsed buildings in the country.

    The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Olusegun Aganga, made this disclosure in Abuja at the second Lafarge National dialogue series.

    Aganga, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Amb. Abdulkadir Musa, said the challenge that building collapse is posing to the nation is a source of concern to the government.

    The minister stated that “the implementation of ISO standards for building as well as the enforcement of building codes is currently being embarked upon.”

    Aganga said the government is leaving no stone unturned in its efforts at establishing quality standards in the country.

    According to him, “a new era of consciousness has begun and will be sustained effectively. To this end, we are working on introduction of courses on standards in universities in the country.”

    Government he said “is fighting the scourge with all resources in order to ensure that the trend is permanently halted and as instrument of positive change, we are responding appropriately to incidence and occurrences as they arise, while working assiduously to prevent others from ever occurring.”

    The Representative of Minister of Housing Alhaji Sanni Gidado also disclosed that the nation’s building code is being reviewed and has reached its final stage. The executive he said is now working with the National Assembly to pass the law to enforce the use of building code and working to see that public buildings go through proper approval.

    Also speaking at the event, Lafarge’s Group Executive Vice President/Country CEO Nigeria and Benin Republic, Mr. Guillaume Roux stated that the national building code which came into force in 2006 needs to be widely accepted by all stakeholders and be fully implemented.

  • Why Nigeria did not sign EU/ECOWAS trade liberalisation agreement, by Aganga

    Why Nigeria did not sign EU/ECOWAS trade liberalisation agreement, by Aganga

    The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, has explained the reason Nigeria refused to sign the trade liberalisation agreement being pushed forward by the European Union (EU) under the  Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

    Speaking at a lunch in honour of the Director-General, United Nations Industrial Development Organsation (UNIDO), Mr. Li Yong, Aganga, whose ministry played a major role in the EPA negotiations, said certain provisions of the agreement, which Nigeria was expected to sign at the ECOWAS Heads of States meeting in Yamoussoukro, Cote D’Ivoire, last week, were not in the best interest of the economy.

    He said: “Under the EPA, the EU will immediately offer the 15-member ECOWAS and non-member states full access to its markets. In return, ECOWAS will gradually open up 75 per cent of its markets, with its 300 million consumers, to Europe over a 20-year period.

    “Technical negotiations were wrapped up last month with the EU offering a 6.5 billion euro (about $8.94 billion) package over the next five years to help ECOWAS cushion the effects and costs of integrating into the global economy.

    “The EPA agreement is not ready for endorsement by the Heads of State and Government. During the meeting last week, Nigeria raised 10 objections to what was presented to us and the Summit of Heads of State ratified it.”

    According to him, a committee from Nigeria, Cote D’Ivoire , Ghana and Senegal looked at the issues raised by member-states, particularly Nigeria, and came up with a proposal, adding that when the country went into the meeting, the idea was to endorse it, but there were reservations concerning the agreement based on model and feedback from the private sector.

    He said: “One major reservation was that the way the agreement was done, which of course they expected us to sign, would not be in the overall interest of the Nigerian economy over the long term. For instance, in the area of market access, the EU wants us to open our market by 75 per cent over a 20-year period.

    “This appears harmless because over the first five years, there will be no major impact because they will open all their doors for us to export to Europe. However, the problem here is that, currently, we are not exporting much to Europe and so the benefit will not be significant.”

    The minister explained that, given Nigeria’s condition as an import-dependent economy, it would be counter-productive to open its doors to imports without first of all developing its industrial sector to compete globally, especially in those sectors where the country has comparative and competitive advantage as provided for in the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan recently launched by President Goodluck Jonathan.

    “Another major point we raised was that those items that were in Category D, and excluded in the 25 per cent, should include those areas and sectors that we want to develop in line with the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan. Some of those areas are already under Category C and D, meaning that they are the sectors that the EU wants us to liberalise imports. If we do that, it will have a very negative impact on the NIRP.

    “Nigeria is the biggest country in the ECOWAS and we are already producing some of those goods that they want us to liberalise their importation. Also, what this means is that, not now, but from 2025-2026, based on the items that have been included and excluded, there will be significant loss of revenue to the government. There will be loss of jobs, investment and loss of even the ECOWAS market,” he stressed.

    Aganga, however, said it was important to remain as one in the ECOWAS region, saying: “Even if they import those items into our neighbouring countries, they will end up in Nigeria and this will have negative impact on the Nigerian economy. So, it is important for us to work together as ECOWAS members and not to allow EPA to divide us.”

    Speaking during the event, the Director-General, UNIDO, Mr. Li Yong, pledged UNIDO’s unflinching support towards the growth and development of Nigeria’s industrial sector in line with the organization’s Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development Programme.

  • Protecting Nigeria’s economy paramount, says Aganga

    Protecting Nigeria’s economy paramount, says Aganga

    The Federal Government, yesterday held a meeting with the Organised Private Sector to harmonise Nigeria’s position, ahead of the March 28 ECOWAS Authority’s  Heads of States and Government’s meeting  in Yamoussoukro, Cote d’Ivoire.

    The meeting would culminate in the signing of the European Partnership Agreement between ECOWAS and the European Union,

    Stakeholders agreed at the meeting held in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, that the position to take on whether Nigeria should sign the agreement, or not must be in the overall interest of the Nigerian economy and should encourage regional economic integration.

    Those in attendance were: the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga; Supervising Minister of National Planning, Ambassador BasirYuguda, Minister of State II  for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Nurudeen Mohammed; President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Chief Kola Jamodu and representatives of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of  Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture and the National Association of Nigerian Traders, among others.

    Speaking on the outcome of the meeting, Aganga said there was need for Nigeria to take a strong position that would protect its economy and strengthen Nigeria’s leadership position within the West African sub-region.

    He said: “We will not sign any agreement that will jeopardise the interest of the Nigerian economy and undermine the on-going efforts of President GoodluckEbele Jonathan towards industrialising the country. We must take the overall best interest of the country into consideration.

    “Nigeria’s position should however be to encourage regional economic integration, and as well put in place the conditions that are acceptable for the whole of ECOWAS to enter into such partnership.”

    Also speaking, the Supervising Minister of National Planning, Ambassador Yuguda, noted that there was the need to consider Nigeria’s overall economic interest before signing the EPA.

    “Our country’s interest must come first. We need to consider the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan, which is part of the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan before signing the EPA.

    “We have plans to re-base our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and will not do anything that will impact negatively on our GDP and the Nigerian economy as a whole,” he said.

  • Why Segun Aganga is called Eye

    Why Segun Aganga is called Eye

    FOR those who don’t know the sobriquet for the Minister for Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga in his days at the famous Christ School Ado-Ekiti is Eye (Yoruba for bird).

    The former Finance Minister earned the alias as a result of his involvement in sporting activities.

    In his days at Christ School,Aganga played volley ball for the school and was also an athelete. Recently,the school had a re-union party and as soon as the minister entered the venue of the event, shouts of Eye rent the air to the admiration of those graced the event.

  • Aganga hails Fayemi’s virtues

    Aganga hails Fayemi’s virtues

    Minister of Industry, Trade and Investments Olusegun Aganga has described Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi as a purposeful leader guided by values.

    He said Fayemi “is one of the few astute managers of men and resources in the country”.

    Speaking in Lagos on Sunday at the First Distinguished Alumni Lecture of the Christ’s School, Ado-Ekiti, Alumni Association, Lagos Branch, Aganga described Fayemi as an example of “genuine service to humanity.”

    The minister, who spoke on: “The Emerging Industrial & Investment Climate in Nigeria: New Opportunities for the Nigerian People”, said he was not surprised by Fayemi’s achievements, adding that the governor imbibed the values of service and selflessness taught at Christ’s School, Ado-Ekiti.

    Aganga, a former Christ’s School pupil, said many of the school’s alumni were good ambassadors.

    He said: “Every big success is a product of breaking away from old tradition. Nigeria needs commitment, re-orientation and moral values from individuals and organisation to excel. We had the values before but it got eroded. There is need for value re-orientation, if we must achieve our economic growth.”

    On the Federal Government’s efforts to transform the economy, Aganga said the government would continue to provide an enabling business environment, urging individuals to take advantage of the opportunities.

    He mentioned power, transportation and manufacturing as areas where the government’s efforts were yielding results.

    Aganga described the privatisation of the power sector as the best decision to rescue the sector.

     

  • ‘15 multi-nationals have returned’

    ‘15 multi-nationals have returned’

    New policies by the federal government have bought back fifteen industries that left the country, Minister of Industry, Olusegun Aganga, said yesterday.

    He spoke in Yola during a visit to Savannah Sugar Company Limited (SSCL), a subsidiary of Dangote group of companies.

    Aganga assured that the economy would soon be revived through ongoing revolutionary policies in the productive sector.

    The policies, he explained, are aimed at putting the nation in the number one spot in Africa.

    The minister commended Dangote for planning to expand the sugar company to 30,000 hectares of sugar cane.

    He stated that the group is planning to establish additional 50,000 hectares of sugar plantation in Taraba State next year, saying the development will create additional 180,000 jobs.

    The Group Managing Director (GMD) of Dangote Sugar Company, Graham Clark, said Dangote has 4,000 workers at Savannah Sugar Company and plans to employ more.

    He pledged to build a 25- bed hospital for the host communities for accessible medical attention.

  • Fed Govt eyes $50b investments in power sector

    Fed Govt eyes $50b investments in power sector

    • Manufacturing growth to add N5tr

    The Federal Government has received expressions of interests worth $50 billion (about N8 trillion) for new investments in the power sector as the government continues to explore opportunities to leverage on the privatisation of the power sector to unlock economic growth.

    Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, who spoke yesterday at the fifth edition of Standard Bank West Africa Investors’ Forum at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, said the success of the privatisation is bringing capital, technology and operational excellence into the sector.

    According to him, the privatisation of the power sector has unlocked the investment opportunities in the sector with several investors indicating interests in the sector.

    He noted that while 11 distribution firms and four generation companies have been privatised for more than $3 billion, other generating plants in the National Integrated Power Projects Programme will soon be privatised.

    “But privatisation is just the beginning in Nigeria’s power sector, as we now have a pipeline of approximately $50 billion of investments lined up to go into the Nigerian power industry in the next few years,” Aganga said.

    He noted that, given the abundant investment opportunities in Nigeria, the country would remain one of the leading high growth and high returns countries globally.

    He said the government is committed to unlocking Nigeria’s economic opportunities through clear policies and strategies that would facilitate economic growth and enhance competitiveness.

    According to him, the government is working to increase the contribution of manufacturing sector from its abysmal level of four per cent contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 10 per cent by 2017. This would add extra N3.5 trillion to the nation’s economy and about N5 trillion to manufacturing revenue.

    He said to achieve sustainable inclusive economic growth and diversification, the government had embarked on far-reaching, sector-specific reforms to address the challenges inhibiting competitiveness of local businesses across all sectors of the economy.

  • Coalition to launch campaign for standardisation of cement

    Coalition to launch campaign for standardisation of cement

    A BIG battle – standar-disation of cement production and importation – is on the way in the construction industry.

    Leading the battle are major civil society groups and professionals, who will be pushing for 42.5 grade of cement as the standard product in Nigeria.

    The main aim, The Nation learnt yesterday, is to tackle building collapse – a phenomenon that has killed thousands.

    The lower grade cement (32.5) is common in Nigeria – no thanks to weak regulation. The popular thinking is that the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) seems not to be doing enough.

    The battle plan includes:

    •pushing for the National Assembly to probe manufacturers and importers for compromising standards;

    •enlisting the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) to give SON a wake-up call;

    •enforcing the National Building Code; and

    •enlisting the Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria (COREN) in fighting sub-standard cement.

    The coalition of civil society groups is to confront the Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (CMAN) for what it called the poor standard of local and imported cement.

    To the activists, standard should not give way in the face of monetary gains – to the detriment of lives.

    According to them, in the advanced countries, the lower grade cement (32.5) is being dumped for the higher level (42.5) “and even 52.5”.

    “With a uniform standard set by government, manufacturers and importers can be held accountable whenever there is infraction or reduction in agreed specification,” they said.

    The coalition’s spokesperson, Mr. Tunde Ojo, blamed the Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, for what he described as complicity with manufacturers and vowed to mobilise block makers nationwide against manufacturers and importers of poor quality cement. He did not, however, name them.

    In a working document titled: Cement: Standardisation, safety versus affordability and poor quality, the coalition writes:

    “How do you identify good quality cement; is it by the manufacturer’s name or by its composition or pigmentation, if you like? Many a people, whether literate or not, identify cement merely by producer’s name. So, it is common to see most people, builders and non-builders alike, identifying with Eagle Cement, for instance or Elephant Cement or Dangote Cement, Rock Cement, UNICEM, BUA and so on, just to mention but a few. It matters very little to most buyers or customers what the composition or the contents or pigmentation of the cement bag is. For many, what influences what brand of cement to buy is the price and, in most cases, the proximity to the point of usage.

    “What that means is that, in a cement market where you have displayed products from Lafarge, Dangote, UNICEM, Ibeto and Northern Cement Company of Nigeria, BUA, Ashaka, for instance, buying anyone as experience has shown, would essentially be a function of price and proximity. Not many, without stretching the argument too far, would be concerned, or are even conscious about quality. To them, they are all cement, the difference perhaps, is that between six and half-a-dozen. But it is beyond that.

    “Maintaining standards for all products’ range, there are standards. Cement may not be a drug, but it has fatalistic effects as it happens in bridges and buildings collapse when low quality specimens are used. And this has been a recurring decimal in Nigeria. The unfortunate thing is, those who are charged with the responsibility of investigating these recurring mishaps have never looked the way of the quality of cement used in some of these structures; rather, only the contractors bear the brunt. It is important that the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), if they are the ones in charge, should take a closer look at the quality of cement churned out by local manufacturers and also the imported ones as well.”

    He went on: “Types of Cement; broadly speaking there are two, or may be three types of cement common in Nigeria. There’s the CEM 1 42.5 R and CEM 1 42.5 N on the one hand; and CEM 32.5 R, on the other hand. Besides, there are variants of these with different specifications. The CEM I 42.5 R and CEM I 42.5 N cements are produced with clinker and limestone in the ration of 95%: 5% respectively. The gypsum that is added during the grounding process is for adjustment of the setting period, which is usually obtained at the end of 28 days.

    “Among other applications, this cement is used when good strength concrete is required, especially in concrete productions requiring high strength, or early strength. Also, it is used in production of thin section reinforced concrete and in highly reinforced concrete buildings, among other uses. CEM II 32.5 is suitable for flooring and wall plastering (rendering).”

     

  • Fed Govt inaugurates committee for national quality policy

    Fed Govt inaugurates committee for national quality policy

    The Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, has inaugurated the committee for national quality policy with the aim of ensuring enterprise in Nigeria in order to meet up with global challenges.

    The report of the committee should be ready by June 2014, with membership drawn from all sectors, including the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, NEPC, Consumer Protection Council CPC, Nigerian Society of Engineers, NSE, the Ministry of Petroleum, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture, Manufacturing Association of Nigeria, MAN, the Ministry of Information etc.

    The committee is to coordinate the drafting of a quality policy that spells out clearly what the objectives of the NQP are. The objectives would also become the key performance indicators at the end of the specified implementation time, five years, that would tell if the policy has been successfully implemented or not.

    The minister, who is the chairman of the committee, disclosed this during the inaugural meeting of the steering committee for a national quality policy NQP for Nigeria in Abuja, stating that governments of other countries are carefully reconsidering the overall arrangement of their national quality infrastructure.

    He said, “I am presenting to you the overview of the quality policy by assuring you that every resolution, commitment, determination of the administration is to join with stakeholders in inaugurating the new efficiency policy and economy anchored on a national quality policy.

    “This meeting of various agencies and organisation is relevant in situation terms. We are witnesses today to important evolution in the political security and socio-economic architectures of our nation aimed at enhancing our economic competitiveness as well as global relevance and acceptance.

    “In today’s context, the strategic importance on national quality is evident. I believe we should look to establish, implement and optimise the policy potentials with a sense of great urgency. We should endeavour to take our meeting beyond being a forum for inter-agency and organisational dialogue.”

    He added that the NQP committee will provide guidelines as to the elements such a policy should contain, and provide recommendation on the optimum arrangement of the quality infrastructure and the technical regulation regime. The NQP should also meet demonstrable needs.