NewsOil And Gas Should Not Be Neglected – Dangote

Oil And Gas Should Not Be Neglected – Dangote

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BEVERLY HILLS, September 29, (THEWILL) – Africa’s richest man and Chairman of the Dangote group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has emphasized that diversifying the Nigerian economy does not mean we should neglect our oil and gas sector.

Dangote, who was the Guest Speaker at the 44th Annual General Meeting of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), in Abuja, said the oil and gas sector needs to be deepened and expanded to enable us to unlock the full benefits in the hydrocarbon value chain.

He said diversification was basically aimed at increasing the range of products and services in the economy through domestic value addition.

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He said that the objectives of diversification were to enhance export opportunities for a variety of products and create multiple streams of foreign exchange inflows into the domestic economy.

Dangote explained that the role of government in manufacturing simply was to expand the sector, enhance its productivity and improve its competitiveness.

He added that government embraced industrialisation after independence by putting in place several policies, one of which was Import Substitution.

He said that import substitution was aimed at reducing the importation of finished goods in favour of local production of such products.

He said due to recession, Nigeria should develop other income streams by diversifying its economy since it could no longer depend solely on crude oil exports to fund its economy.

Dangote said that fortunately, Nigeria had huge potential which could propel economic diversification, adding that it had at least 44 known minerals scattered across the length and breadth of the country.

“Indeed, even crops which we would typically associate with temperate regions of the world are known to grow in the highlands of Plateau, Adamawa and Obudu,” he said.

“At this juncture it is worth emphasizing that diversifying the Nigerian economy does not mean we should neglect our oil and gas sector.

“On the contrary, the oil and gas sector needs to be deepened and expanded to enable us to unlock the full benefits in the hydrocarbon value chain.”

Story by David Oputah

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