Abuja – The House of Representatives on Thursday said it would assess activities of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, especially the level of export promotion in the country.
The resolution followed a motion by Rep. Abdullahi Umar-Faruk (Kebbi-APC).
Moving the motion, Umar-Faruk recalled that the council was established by the Federal Government in 1976 as part of strategies of ensuring that Nigeria did not depend solely on oil for income.
He said that the idea was that the council would be the leading agency for promoting non-oil exports from the country.
He, however, lamented that in spite of the existence of the council, the country had continued to rely on oil export as major source of revenue.
According to Umar-Faruk, oil accounts for more than 70 per cent of the total revenue that sustains the economy.
He said that “massive importation of foreign goods over the years and the fall in the price of crude oil in the international market has adversely affected the economy’’.
The lawmaker, therefore, stressed the need to promote export of Nigerian goods to increase the country’s foreign earning and fast-track government’s efforts at diversifying the economy from oil to non-oil exports.
The motion was unanimously adopted by members, and the house mandated its Committee on Commerce to look into the matter and report back within six weeks for further legislative action. (NAN)
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