US commerce secretary, Elumelu canvass increased US-Nigeria investments

Penny Pritzker, the U.S. secretary of com¬merce, and Tony Elumelu, chairman, Heirs Holdings, on Wednesday called for increased US-Nigeria investments.
Both leaders spoke at a gathering of business leaders in Lagos.
Pritzker, who is leading 20 American companies on an Energy Business De¬velopment trade mission to Ghana and Nigeria, said American companies would invest in countries that ob¬serve the rule of law, follow ethical standards and have good work environments.
“Nigeria needs to take the tough steps that allow businesses to truly thrive. Our companies want to do business in countries that follow the rule of law, maintain ethical standards, abide by workplace safety, encourage workforce train¬ing and protect intellectual property” she stated.
She also maintained that businesses must operate freely and devoid of unnec¬essary regulation, govern¬ment interference and cor-ruption, stating that “these are the conditions that will increase confidence among international and local busi¬ness leaders and encour-age further investments in Nigeria.”
The commerce secretary also advised the govern¬ment to sign the Govern¬ment Procurement Agree¬ment of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and urged the Nigerian govern¬ment, business and civil society leaders to join hands in developing home grown solutions to challenges fac¬ing the country.
“I believe that together we can, must, and will move toward strengthening our security, promote democ¬racy, spur more trade, invest-ment and economic oppor¬tunity to benefit Nigerian citizens,” she said.
Tony Elumelu, chair¬man of Heirs Holdings and founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, who spoke on behalf of the private sec-tor, said the visit was very strategic and underscores the importance that the US attaches to Nigeria.
“While the Nigerian peo¬ple are proud that our oil is helping to power the biggest economies in the world, we are about so much more than oil resources, we are about agriculture; we are about telecoms; we are about real estate and hospitality; we are about entertainment; we are banking and financial services and so much more.”