Nigeria to Stop Importing Petroleum by 2018 – Aganga

According to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, Nigeria would stop importing petroleum products by 2018 if things worked as planned. He spoke as guest Lecturer at the sixth convocation lecture of Bells University of Technology BELLSTECH, Ota, Ogun State.

While speaking on the Topic, 'Emergence of Nigeria as Africa's Leading Economy: Challenges for the Future', the Minister said "If things go as planned, by 2017/2018, Nigeria will stop importing petroleum products because we have over 44 other solid minerals in commercial quantity and rich human resources to sustain us. Nigeria is on the road to unparallel change; the likes that we have not seen in this country before. Over the last five years, we have done well; we have never had it this good."

He added that the 2014 rebasing of Nigeria economy had helped tremendously as the country is now the 26th largest economy in the world and the largest in Africa. He said the nation's economy now accounts for more than 75 per cent of all of ECOWAS.

Aganga affirmed that: "I can say to you confidently that we are indeed a blessed nation. Just consider that we achieved all this despite the constraints we face like electricity and electricity makes about 40 per cent of production. With this, we know where we will be when we have enough power supply." He added that crude oil never made Nigeria rich, instead it made it poor because of the way the country treated the mineral resource.