The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) says the country’s economy can thrive better without oil if the non-oil sector was prioritised.

NEPC North Central Zonal Coordinator, Samson Idowu stated this in an interview on Sunday in Jos, Plateau State.

Mr Idowu said that Nigeria is blessed with abundant non-oil resources ranging from agricultural produce to mineral resources.

“If you look at the countries doing well globally today, they are not countries that are rich in oil. In fact, there’s a school of thought that oil is a curse than a blessing for Nigeria.

“The likes of Cocoa House, Liberty Stadium, Groundnut Pyramids and many other assets including the free education in Western Nigeria  were from our sweat from agriculture.

“It is the discovery of oil at Oloibiri that brought us to where we are now that everybody is running to Abuja for brown envelope.

“I can boldly say that we excelled without oil and we will thrive and even better if there is no oil,” he stated.

Mr Idowu expressed confidence that with the right policy, right support, right intervention and right focus, Nigeria’s economy would be on the right track.

The coordinator stated that there were many calls for the country’s restructuring but what is needed is economic restructuring.

According to him, all the regions should focus on what they have competitive and comparative advantage and depend less on Abuja.

“So we shouldn’t wait for the oil to dry up before we take a step because the oil is drying up,” Mr Idowu said, pleading with the government to pay attention to the non-oil sector.

(NAN)