By Bassey Udo
Potential investors for the United State can take advantage of the massive investment opportunities in Nigeria, especially in the non-oil sector of the economy, President Muhammadu Buhari said on Friday
Buhari was speaking at a Presidential dialogue and Nigeria Business and Investment Forum with some U.S. investors in Washington DC between some Nigerian Embassy officials, diplomats and experts from the private sector on the sidelines of the just-concluded 2022 U.S. Africa Leaders’ Summit.
The dialogue was held behind closed doors, while the Panel session on “Nigeria: A compelling Investment Haven’’ was opened for officials and Nigerians in the Diaspora to discuss the investment opportunities available in the country.
The outcome of the massive efforts and investments by his administration in Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment, i.e. Road Construction and Rehabilitation, Investment Tax Credit Policy, Buhari said, led to the reconstruction of 21 selected Federal Roads, totaling 1,804.6 kilometres.
“With regards to railways, sea and air ports as well as energy, which are expected to facilitate movements of people, goods and services as well as sustain the stabilization of industries and their growth respectively.
“The outcome of Government efforts are well documented in basic facts on Nigeria, which you can easily access for your education and use,’’ he said.
Nigeria, like other countries, including the developed economies, he said, was facing economic challenges, as a result of the disruptions by the COVID–19 pandemic and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, and the impact of Climate Change, in which massive flooding is one the manifestations.
Notwithstanding these global challenges, the President said Nigeria witnessed seven consecutive quarters of growth, after the negative growth rates recorded in the 2nd and 3rd Quarters of 2022.
“Nigeria’s GDP grew by 3.54 percent year-on-year in real terms in the 2nd Quarter of 2022, which represents a sustained positive economic performance, especially for the non-Oil GDP, which fell by 4.77 percent in Q2 2022 against Oil GDP that grew by -11.77 percent.’’
The Nigerian leader said the statistics continued to indicate that most sectors of the economy recorded positive growth in spite these challenges, which reflect the effective implementation of the economic sustainability measures introduced by our Administration.
“For our economy to favourably meet up the global digitization, Nigeria embraced Communication and Digital Economy. Already, the broadband coverage of the country stands at 44.32 per cent and 77.52 per cent. 4G coverage has also been achieved, with the establishment of 36,751 4G base stations nationwide,’’ he added
Buhari said bearing in mind the necessity for adequate and sustained power supply as a pre-requisite for any socio-economic and industrial development, he said his administration placed the power sector as a critical priority area.
“In the pursuit of our energy development, Nigeria remains mindful of her commitment to carbon neutrality by 2060. In this regard, our administration launched an Energy Transition Plan (ETP) in September, 2022 aimed at meeting the national energy needs, in line with Nigeria’s net zero target.
“The Energy Transition Plan is a home-grown, data-backed, multipronged strategy developed for the achievement of net-zero emissions’ reduction across five (5) key sectors; Power, Cooking, Oil and Gas, Transport and Industry. The Energy Transition Plan (ETP) is therefore, a huge investment opportunity in the gas sector,’’ he said.
Peace and security, he said, have become global phenomena, in relation to human activities, including governance and businesses.
“While peace enhances the climate of stability and potential progress, insecurity is not only the reverse but also makes our collective future unpredictable. As a country and sub-region, we continue to make sustained investments and efforts to strengthen our national and sub-regional security,’’ he said.
In such circumstances, Buhari said Nigeria continued to treasure strong partnerships with friends and allies in our national, continental and global efforts for safety and survival.
“It is our strong belief that these determined efforts will rekindle interest to invest as well as enhance the volume of your investments in the Nigerian economy.” he said.
In a related development, Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, Niyi Adebayo said Nigeria had demonstrated a commitment to clean energy transition.
Adebayo said Nigeria had demonstrated commitment by launching a programme to provide solar systems for five million households and small enterprises as part of a broader National Economic Sustainability Plan.
“However, the overall energy transition programme requires investments of over $300 billion dollars in order to achieve net-zero emission targets,’’ he said.
Adebayo spoke at a meeting on “ Regional Cooperation and the Future of African Energy: the Role of Nigeria and Morocco” on the sideline of the 2022 U.S.- Africa Business Summit on Friday.
He said the investment required a challenge and a massive opportunity, adding that to mobilise conventional capital, it is critical that we become significant participants in the global carbon finance market.
“The good news is that we have, especially in recent years, embarked on far-reaching reforms of Nigeria’s investment environment, as has been evidenced by the marked improvement in our global rankings.
“This will facilitate easy integration into the global marketplace for conventional capital and other innovative financing.’’ (NAN)
