President Bola Tinubu has identified the localisation of production processes and cost reduction as critical factors in addressing hunger in Nigeria.
Tinubu, represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator George Akume, said this at the 2024 National MSME Conference, on Thursday in Abuja.
He emphasised that the country’s economic challenges, including food insecurity, stem from a reliance on imported goods and inefficient local production.
“Nigerians experience hunger because we have not fully localised production processes and reduced costs effectively.
“I also realise the importance of innovation and digitalisation to this purpose. There is no justice in creating an economy that is not sustainable for the coming generations.
“Our constitution frowns upon it, I frown upon it, and morality frowns upon it. As a country, we are still suffering the effects of trying to shift from a crude-based economy which has left us debt-ridden.
“Thus, the need to move the production and wealth-generating power of the economy to the people. It is in doing this that we can ensure equal distribution of resources,” he said.
The President, while stating the role of MSMEs, said they were the engines of rural industrialisation, poverty alleviation, and sustainable development.
He then reiterated the government’s commitment to fostering a sustainable and innovation-driven economy.