Nigeria lost $30b oil revenue in two years – Awolowo

Nigeria is said to have lost an estimated $30 billion in oil revenue between 2014 and 2015, the Executive Director, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Olusegun Awolowo, has said.

He spoke in Abuja on Friday at the batch three graduation ceremony of 38 Zero to Export Capacity Building Programme beneficiaries.

He said: “The essence of our gathering today underscores the crucial role that non-oil export sector is expected to play in the present administration’s efforts at diversifying the Nigerian economy away from over reliance on oil as its main stay, especially now that the continuous fall in prices of oil has thrown the world into recession.

“Recent developments on global market have triggered a wake-up call on the need for us to accelerate the diversification of our economy, moving away from an over dependence on oil as our main source of revenue.

“Since reaching a peak in June 2014, the price of crude oil has fallen roughly by 60 per cent. Nigeria lost $30billion in oil revenue between 2014 and 2015.

“NEPC will continue to encourage Nigerians to take advantage of the diversification process of the Federal Government through the promotion of non oil export activities.”

Awolowo said the NEPC would continue to create opportunities for Nigerians to imbibe the culture of exportation through capacity building and training programmes.

According to him, the non-oil export sector is expected to play a crucial role in the present administration’s effort to diversify the economy away from over reliance on oil as its main stay.

“As the Federal Government of Nigeria’s apex agency for the promotion of non-oil exports and diversification of the economy, the NEPC considers it critical to spearhead the development of capacity of individuals and businesses for export.

“We are therefore engaging in strategic partnerships with institutions in government and the private sector in Nigeria and abroad in that regard. A demonstration of such partnerships is the Zero Export Plus Programme which is a partnership between NEPC, Fidelity Bank and the Lagos Business School.

“That programme along with the zero to Export Programme which you have just completed will go a long way to address constraints of the export sector which include inadequate skills and poor access to finance,” he added.

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