The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, on Monday in Abuja noted the necessity for a vibrant commodities market in job creation and poverty reduction, while enabling efficient use of resources for the benefit of both the public and private sectors of the economy.
Osinbajo, spoke at the opening of a two-day International Conference on the Nigerian Commodities Market (ICNCM 2020), with the theme: “Commodities Trading Ecosystem: Key to diversifying Nigeria’s economy,” organized by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Represented at the occasion by Ambassador Maryam Katagun, the Minister of State, Industry, Trade and Investment, Osinbajo, said Nigeria is endowed with favorable atmospheric conditions for farming, as well as abundant natural resources and a teaming youth population.
With more jobs created and poverty reduced, the microeconomic situation of the country will improve, he added, a situation; he believes every responsible government is interested in.
This, he continued, is at the heart of the present administration ‘s policies and projects implementation, for which reason “the federal government has put many initiatives in place to develop the agriculture and solid mineral sectors.”
In her address, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, said the theme of the conference has always been relevant in Nigeria’s national discourse as several national plans, programmes and projects have targeted diversifying the production and revenue sectors of the economy.
While achievements have been made in these areas, she noted, the country must do more to ensure a more robust production and export base, while being less vulnerable to external shocks and providing more opportunities for the growing population.
She noted that the recent outbreak of Coronavirus has further strengthened the Federal Government’s resolve to diversify the economy, hence the theme of the conference was apt and timely.
“With the topics that have been scheduled in this two-day event and the quality of the speakers, I am further assured that the outcomes of this conference will be beneficial to the Capital Market but most importantly to the national economy. Through this conference, I can see the Capital Market community add its voice to the need to further diversify our economy, while also suggesting that one of the ways to this is to develop a vibrant commodities trading ecosystem. Our country is well endowed with various Commodities comprising agriculture, energy and mineral resources. For instance, the agricultural sector employs about 40% of our labour force, and accounts for 22% of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP), she said.
Welcoming participants, Acting Director-General of the SEC, Ms. Mary Uduk said one of the key initiatives of the 10 year Capital Market Master Plan is the development of a thriving commodities trading ecosystem as part of the capital market’s contribution to the national economy.
According to her, while it is clear that Nigeria is well endowed with agricultural, metals and energy commodities, its potentials in these areas have been untapped.
For, therefore, “the good news, however, is that the capital market can be used as an avenue to unlock these potentials and diversify the nation’s economy, while providing jobs, creating values and contributing to governments’ revenue.
“We believe that if we can develop and institutionalise a vibrant commodities trading ecosystem in Nigeria, we can substantially address problems such as lack of storage, poor pricing, non-standardization, as well as low foreign exchange earnings affecting our agriculture and other commodities sub-sectors”.
Senator, Ibikunle Amosun, Chairman Senate Committee on Capital Market, while commending the SEC for organizing the programme, noted that the conference will provide a platform for stakeholders to rub minds and cross-fertilize ideas for the purpose of diversifying Nigeria’s economy.

From left, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed; Chairman, Senate Committee on Capital Market Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Acting Director General Securities and Exchange Commission, Ms Mary Uduk and Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment Mrs Mariam Katagum at the opening of the International Conference on Nigerian Commodities Market in Abuja, Monday.