Nigeria to discourage importation of low quality goods

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed government’s readiness to improve Nigeria’s industrial sector by strengthening local investment and discouraging importation of foreign goods.

The president stated this in Abuja at the commissioning ceremony of the new ultra-modern steel pipe manufacturing mill and inaugural rolling out ceremony of completed gas pipelines of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.

Mr. Buhari, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, said his administration would regularly review fiscal policy measures to safeguard local investment and discourage importation of low quality products and services.

He assured that government would promote and support all efforts targeted at achieving industrial growth and improving the socio-economic development of Nigeria by creating the enabling environment for same.

The president tasked oil companies operating in the country to develop new specification of pipes that would meet international standard for low pressure and shallow water application in the oil and gas industry.

“Once the industry begins to accept made-in-Nigeria product and place demand on Nigerian pipe mill like the SCC mill, it would just be a matter of time for tens of thousands of job to be generated.

“In the face of our increasing demands for steel pipes, which today stand at 1.2 million tons annually, this development is expected to satisfy close to 10 percent of the nation’s oil and gas pipe demands which is about one hundred thousand tons annually.

“I therefore commend the SCC in this regards. I particularly note your concern about the shortage of steel raw materials in Nigeria,” Mr. Buhari stated.

In his earlier remark, the director of the pipeline company, Patrick Dele-Cole, disclosed the commitment of the company to partner with the Federal Government in order to develop local industry and boost economic, human and entrepreneurial growth in Nigeria.

He appreciated the federal government’s commitment to increasing the local content of manufactured products for projects executed in Nigeria.

Also speaking, the Managing Director of the company, Yuval Levy, said the project gulped over $150million, adding that a lot could also be done to prevent pipeline vandalism by using security forces and cooperation of local communities where the pipe is passing.

“Even if you put any technological gadget, tomorrow, the people can dig in, taking out the gadgets, and the fibre optics.

“The idea is to have cooperation between the security forces and the local communities for the security of the pipelines,” he said.