NIPC urges investors to explore non-oil Investment opportunities
Uju Aisha Hassan Baba, executive secretary of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), has called on investors to consider the challenges facing Nigeria as an opportunity to invest in the country, even as she reiterated that the commission will continue to be on the vanguard of diversification policy of the federal government to promote the non-oil sectors of the economy.
The NIPC boss, while receiving an investment delegation from Chinese Africa Investment Limited in her office last Thursday, described the influx of foreign investors into the country even in the first month of the year as a manifestation of Present Muhammadu Buhari’s policy direction and good governance, stressing that “any of our present challenges is an opportunity to invest”.
She expressed the determination of the commission to take Nigeria to a future beyond oil, stressing that the commission is vigorously promoting the non-oil sectors and ensuring that investors are given a hand-holding support and provided with all the services they require. She commended them for having confidence in the country by investing their resources and promised to support them in expanding their business so as to provide more jobs and create wealth for Nigerians.
She maintained that the Ccommission is the only agency of government that is charged with the responsibility of promoting and attracting investment into the economy and also has the legal framework on all investment related matters, adding that the agency will provide both potential and existing investors with all the necessary assistance and ‘after care services’, including the required incentives for the realisation of their investment in the country.
The Leader of the delegation who is also the chairman of Chinese African Limited, Chukwu Tony Chime, stated that “Nigeria economy will grow faster if an enabling environment is created by this administration to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the economy”, adding that, “most leading economies of the world developed their respective countries through the inflow of FDI”.
He said his group will partner with the commission in order to attract more FDI into the economy, noting that “Chinese African Limited works closely with a consortium of both Chinese Investors and Investors from United Arab Emirates (UAE) to make unflinching contributions towards Nigeria’s national development”.
In his comment, Obadiah Mailafia, financial adviser of the group and former deputy governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), described the Nigerian investment climate as very conducive for investment, noting that the so-called insurgency in the North-East of the country has been decimated and cannot disrupt the inflow of investment.
He commended the NIPC for being on the vanguard of promoting and attracting investment into the country, and expressed deep satisfaction on the ‘hand-holding support’ and ‘after-care services’ policy of the commission, stressing that foreign investors should consider Nigeria as the best destination in Africa.
Harrison Edeh