SEGUN AWOLOWO MAKES BOLD MOVE, HOSTS GOV. AKEREDOLU ON COCOA PRODUCTION
by Oki Samson, Trek Africa Newspaper
L-R: Governor, Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu with Executive Director, National Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Dr. Olusegun Awolowo showing the governor some locally produced consumables in the office.
The capacity of Nigeria as an oil giant being one of the top producers of crude oil is undisputed. She is ranked no. 1 on the list of oil-producing countries in Africa.
But she can also do well in many other sectors as evidenced by the groundnut pyramids, cocoa plantations, oil palm reserves, rubber cultivation areas, et al of the 1960s and 70s.
Yet, the country is largely dependent on oil production in modern times. In fact, the majority of the country’s revenue on the annual budget is benchmarked on the barrels of oil produced per day. The nation cannot continue like this!
The Zero Oil Plan of the National Export Promotion Council (NEPC) is out to grow the country’s economy via the non-oil sector. Started in October 2016, it is set out simply to use export trade to boost economic growth, diversify the country’s economy, cut poverty, create jobs, and build foreign reserves.
Spurred by the progressive-minded Dr. Olusegun Awolowo, the Zero Oil Plan is making bold moves. The Executive Director of National Export Promotion Council (NEPC) recently hosts Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, the Executive Governor of Ondo state at the Export House, NEPC’s headquarters in Abujat o chart ways of realizing the massive potentials of Ondo state in cocoa production.
It is also of interest that Ondo state has major activities going on in the areas of bitumen production, revitalization of oil palm production in Okitipupa, and ethanol production using cassava in Ore Industrial Park
It would be recalled that Dr. Olusegun Awolowo envisions the Zero Oil Plan to increase sales of non-oil goods from US$1.2bn in 2016 to US$8bn in 2019, and then reaching US$25bn by 2025.
