By Bashir Mohammed Kano
Th e federal government is to inject N5 billion into the Export Development Fund (EDF) scheme with a view to promoting exportation of goods, the Executive Director of the Export Promotion Council, Mr. Olusegun Awolowo, has said. Speaking to newsmen yesterday in Kano, Awolowo said the Council had put a request of N5 billion to the federal government for this year, adding that the fund would be used to provide free shipment incentives to exporters.
“Th e Export Expansion Grant was suspended three years ago and now the federal government wanted to encourage exportation through EDF by given free incentives to exporters,” he said. Awolowo, who is also the chief executive offi cer of the Council, said he was in Kano to see for himself the exporters’ level of commitment for exportation of goods. He assured that the federal government was committed to boosting exportation of goods, saying exporters were contributing heavily in the nation’s economy. Earlier, the Managing Director of Mamuda Industries, Hassan Mammoud, said export was the engine of a nation’s economy and, therefore, government should not joke with it. Mammoud assured the federa
government of his company’s readiness to support any policy aimed at boosting exportation of goods, adding his fi nishing goods could compete favorably with any goods produced by other tanneries across the globe. He said “presently his company had a total workforce of over 5,000 in Kano state and that over fi ve million pieces of skins are being processed in the company, particularly during Sallah period.”
