FG promises to sustain Made-in-Nigeria Patronage Campaign

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said the Federal Government will intensify and sustain the campaign for the patronage of Made-in-Nigeria products in its drive to diversify the economy, create employment and generate wealth.

The Minister stated this in Lagos on Monday at the launch of the Southwest Campaign for the patronage of Made-in-Nigeria products by the Ministries of Information and Culture as well as Industry, Trade and Investment.

Mohammed said one issue that is very important to our Administration is the diversification of the economy away from oil and to boost industrial development, especially through the local production of goods and services, is a major fulcrum of this policy.

According to him, “Patronising Made-in-Nigeria goods and services is also key to the success of the policy. This is why we are passionate about this Made-in-Nigeria Campaign.”

The minister restated the administration’s commitment to institutionalising the patronage of locally made products by
Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) through the review of the Bureau of Public Procurement Act to make it mandatory for the MDAs to patronize local products.

He said the campaign followed the Executive Order signed by the then Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, to encourage the patronage of locally-made products as a deliberate policy to conserve foreign exchange as well as to boost business for Nigerian companies so they can employ more people and earn revenue.

He also appealed to private media establishments to join hands with the government to create awareness on the patronage of locally made products, saying, “I have personally undertaken a number of advocacy visits to encourage local manufacturers and also help to showcase their products. Fir instance the visit to Innoson Motors in Nnewi, Anambra State, in June this year and the commissioning of a local manufacturing plant for Set-Top-Boxes in Calabar in October 2017 are good example.”