Government seeks investments in real sector with focus labs

The Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning has stated that the federal government is seeking both local and foreign direct investment (FDI) to drive the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), noting the present administration is promoting investment and removing all the constraints hindering investments into the country.

The Minister, Budget and National Planning, Senator. Udoma Udo Udoma, said the federal government’s target is to attract an investment commitment of $25 billion (N7.6 trillion) where he said a huge chunk would come from domestic investment over the next three years.In his words: “We want those commitments to be made now, so that the federal government will also make its own commitment in terms of the required support,” he said.

The minister during a sensitisation luncheon of the ERGP Focus Labs in Lagos, said so far, over 100 private sector companies have indicated interest to drive the ERGP, maintaining that the sensitization forum is to get more interest to drive the federal government’s economic growth plan agenda.

According to him, the top execution priorities of the ERGP is to stabilise the macroeconomic environment through aligned monetary trade and fiscal policies, accelerate non oil revenue generation, deliver on agricultural transformation, ensure energy sufficiency in power and petroleum products, improve transportation Infrastructure and drive industrialisation focusing on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

He said the inflation rate is projected to trend downwards from the current level of almost 19 per cent to single digit by 2020, adding that it was also projected that the exchange rate will stabilise as the monetary, fiscal and trade policies are fully aligned.

Also speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Yewande Sadiku, said this is not the first time that government is coming up with a well thought-out economic plan, saying that the problem had always been lack of a realistic implementation plan, but stressed that learning from the weakness of other plans before the ERGP, the Focus Labs would help to implement the economic growth plan to achieve its desired results.

The Focus Labs is to bring to the table, both the public and private sector operators for the purpose of identifying specific challenges in the business environment and proffer immediate and practical solutions that will fast track the process of attracting and sustaining responsible, inclusive and beneficial investment in accordance with the SDGs,” she said.