Buhari resolves to implement Jonathan’s NIRP report to revive Cocoa industry
Considering the observed collapse in the nations Cocoa industry over the years, President Muhammadu Buhari has called for use of the hitherto abandoned Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) launched by the previous government of President Good luck Jonathan in 2014 to revive the sector.
The President made the call in his keynote address to the opening ceremony of the First International Cocoa Summit holding in Abuja.
Represented by the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbe, Buhari said government is very worried that the decline of Cocoa has moved the nation from her 4th position to 7th position in global Cocoa production.
According to him, “the country is long overdue to make the shift from being primarily an exporter of commodities and raw materials to becoming an industrial economy”.
“Our Industrialisation ambition is hinged on the NIRP launched by the previous government of President Good luck Jonathan in 2014; it is now time to move that comprehensive document from the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) in view of current realities.”
While appealing to Nigerians to patronise made in Nigeria goods and services as a way of encouraging the industries to grow the economy, President Buhari urged the organisers of the summit to use it as a vehicle to grow confidence in local and foreign investors to invest in the Nigerian economy, and create a more robust and better competitive market for Cocoa subsector.
