NEPZA Acting MD calls for amendment of overdue act

 

 

Acting managing director of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), Mr Bitrus D.Dawuk, has expressed concern that NEPZA acts which is long overdue is yet to be amended .

Dawuk said the acts is currently 27 years and  there are a lot of varieties which the act is not addressing .

The acting MD in a chat with newsmen at the weekend in Abuja said the acts from inception was meant for export processing zones.

He said his major achievements while in office is to ensure that the acts is amended as it will bring a turnaround in the economic sector .

Mr Dawuk further assured that he will interact with all the stakeholders and the industry to help them  deliver their manufacturing services and other allied matter and also deliver their intensions in the free trade zones . 

“I also intend to ensure that staff welfare and capacity is fully boosted and properly harnessed in order to deliver our mandate. 

“I am planning to interact with stakeholders in all the free trade zones across the country to see how we can team up together. 

“I will be interacting with the supervising ministry for the best interest of the country,” he said.

On the N14 billion budgetted for the Nigeria Special Economic Zones Company (NSEZCO), the acting MD assured that a 7- man committee has been constituted by the minister to correct and resolve the modalities . 

It was reported that the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Richard Adeniyi Adebayo clarified that it is been investigated as the said money appropriated for the company is still intact and in custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The Minister also clarified that NSEZCO is not  a private company but a company set up by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment in cooperation with private investors.

It was reported that the sum of N14 billion was included in the budget of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment for NZSECO which was claimed to be a private company operated by former minister, Dr Okechukwu Enelamah.

The minister  gave the clarifications before the chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Danjuma Goje  in Abuja. He said the whole concept in setting up the company is to have a specialised zones where special industrial activities will take place adding that the company intend to include the federal government as a major shareholder.

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