The Federal Government has assured United States’ investors of the highest returns on investments in the world, if they come to Nigeria.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, and his Foreign Affairs counterpart, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, made the declaration at the Nigeria-US Business and Investment Forum in New York.
Enelamah explained that the government was building the Nigeria of the future where things would be done differently from the way they were being done in the past.
He said, “Nigeria of the future will be dramatically different from the past and that is what this government is trying to build. “There is a sense of urgency for Nigeria’s industrialisation and we are providing the enabling business and investment environment for investors.”
Enelamah also said that the Federal Government would not betray the confidence the US investors already reposed in Nigeria through the forum.
He added, “What we are offering the investors is a much more stable environment, a lot of enabling business environment, one-stop shop for registration of names, for getting a passport, for coming into the country.
“We are offering them customs clearances, all the elements that go into making the environment much more enabling. A welcoming business environment is what we are offering.
“And of course, we are offering them a huge market of almost 193 million people; we are offering them a bigger market with ECOWAS that they can get access to through Nigeria. And we are offering them good governance. Those are things they also welcome. We are trying to offer them more security in the country because that’s a point that was also raised.”
The minister said the high-level representation of the government demonstrated the commitment of the Federal Government to making the partnership really work.
He said, “We believe that in Nigeria and Africa in general, you get probably the best returns on investment more than anywhere in the world.We are doing everything possible to rebrand our country so that you can know that you are dealing with a reliable partner.
“We want to turn all our embassies around the world, including here in the US as hubs for businesses and to provide you all the information you need to invest in Nigeria. And to meet with business partners on the one-stop shop right here without leaving the United States.”
The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, Ms. Yewande Sadiku, said government was aware of the bottlenecks in the ways of investors and businesses.
Sadiku, however, assured that the problems were being addressed.
She said NIPC was working to achieve a $25 billion Foreign Direct Investment by 2020, surpassing the set target of the Nigerian Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.
