Osinbajo woos investors over Nigeria’s bright investment climate
By Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said serious investors can now take unfettered advantage of Nigeria’s ever growing investment climate providing limitless opportunities for serious investors.
Osinbajo who sees more opportunities for the investors on recent federal government initiatives, including Presidential Enabling Business Council, (PEBEC) and the Focus Labs initiatives successes, noted that Nigeria is now the preferred investors destination in Africa.
Speaking at the “Direct Investors’ Summit Nigeria” organized by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, on Tuesday, noted that federal government has done much within the last three years to brighten the nation’s investment climate.
He cited such opportunities to include arable lands, rich mineral investments and the nation’s gate way positioning not just for west Africa but the entire African continent.
He also harps on the population that is Africa’s largest and half of the entire West Africa “composed of the most youthful population with 50 percent under the age of 20 and 75 percent under the age of 35 who are very energetic and entrepreneurial people.
“This is why any global company serious about its future just have to have a plan for Nigeria, as many opportunities abound,” he said
He listed several companies with public private partnerships that have succeeded in the country Including the Nigeria LNG, as well as the MTN in the e- commerce and retail marketing sector
He noted that the success stories of such and other investments in Nigeria is frequently cited as success in investors cycles.
According to him “although today, the company (MTN) operates in more than 20 countries, half of its earnings comes from Nigeria”
He noted that the Presidential Enabling Business Council (PEBEC) was established to ease opportunities and processes for establishing businesses in Nigeria with full respect for property rights and the rule of law, allowing forces, while government plays its own roles as protector and enabler.
He disclosed that PEBEC has helped dismantled stumbling blocks and eased business establishment in Nigeria, including registration of businesses, creating easy access to finance, as well as easing entry and exist in business operations in the country.
He disclosed that federal government was working with Lagos and Kano , Nigeria’s two largest sub national economies in creating land reforms and legal framework on SME litigations that does not exceed certain thresholds.
Speaking on Focus Lab, he said the Labs are dedicated to removing bottlenecks and to provide a platform for private sector investors to have direct access to regulators, senior government officials, and relevant cabinet ministers in a single location to resolve problems with regulatory or bureaucratic delays inhibiting their businesses.
“Indeed, the Lab was set up to fast-track the resolution of these tough issues, particularly the inter-agency bottlenecks and the regulatory delays with licensing and approvals that private sector investors face in the course of their normal businesses” he said.
The ERGP was established to focused on implementation of government ease of doing business supported by the highest level of political will, from the President himself through to our civil servants on the ground.
” The ERGP Focus Labs have succeeded in identifying more than US$22.5 billion in private investments from about 164 projects, that can be unlocked.
“Of this amount, USD $10.9 billion of them are what we call ‘Most Ready’ projects, that is we are almost sure to unlock these projects and accelerate their delivery by the private sector.
“These projects are forecast to create more than half a million new permanent jobs for the people of Nigeria up until the year 2020, demonstrating the far-reaching impact of the ERGP Focus Labs in unleashing a brighter future for our country.
” Our Justice sector reforms, fighting corruption , empowering judiciary officials. Government has sound close to $10b on investment development. Tax payers base rose from 14million to 19 million tax payers.
” Government is also eyeing new infrastructure funds for roads, rails and other infrastructure development”
“You can be rest assured that every one is safe in Nigeria, government will always do things properly to improve investment climate.
Osinbajo noted that the NIPC is also fulfilling its roles in wooing investors, online investors website, they are now more responsive to investors, increasing its focus on delivering on its mandate
“With all these , investors can now to take maximum advantage of these opportunities to invest in Nigeria and as you will discover from the summit, you will be able to find out for yourselves why you need to invest more in Nigeria”
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