FG to ban importation of wheat, sugar, cotton, others by 2018 –Minister

THE Minister of State for In­dustry, Trade and Investment, Aisha Abubakar, on Wednes­day disclosed that the Federal Government would ban the importation of six commodi­ties by 2018.
Abubakar disclosed this at an interactive session with entrepreneurs and prospec­tive investors participating in Katsina State Economic and Investment Summit in Kat­sina.

The Minister listed the commodities to include rice, wheat, sugar, cotton, tomato paste and processed meat.
She said Nigeria would also stop the importation of cot­ton and other commodities to ensure self-sufficiency and to boost the capacity of textiles and garment manufacturers locally.
The Minister stressed that the present administration was committed to the produc­tion of those commodities in Nigeria.
Abubakar said the country had no business importing the six commodities as they are abundant in Nigeria.
In his remarks, Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State called on prospective in­vestors to come up with work­able plans that could simplify the state’s investment process and eliminate bottlenecks.
Masari assured welders and fabricators of his adminis­tration’s readiness to provide land for the establishment of business clusters for them, adding that his government would continue to patronise made-in-Katsina goods, ser­vices and local contractors.
The governor said he had directed local contractors to purchase roofing sheets and paints from markets within Katsina State and that a large portion of land in Katsina had been allocated to the Federal Ministry of Communication for the establishment of a National Incubation Centre with eight vocational training centres being rehabilitated to empower youths to become self-reliant.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Industry (BoI) has said it will give N2 billion to Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs) in Katsina State un­der its Micro Development Fund.
The release of the money will, however, depend on when the state government pays its counterpart fund of N1 billion, based on a Memo­randum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two parties.
Speaking in Katsina yes­terday while commissioning its Katsina branch office, BoI Acting Managing Director, Waheed Olagunju, noted that the bank had spent about N11.4 billion to fund a total of 40 medium scale entrepre­neurs from across the coun­try.