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FG committed to favourable investment climate, Onyeama tells investors

By Eniola Daniel
23 September 2017   |   4:25 am
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, has assured investors of the Nigerian government’s commitment to providing a favourable investment climate to ensure high returns.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, and chairman of Rendeavour, Frank Mosier, at the US-Nigeria Business Forum in New York.

*‘No better time than now to invest in Nigeria’ – Rendeavour

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, has assured investors of the Nigerian government’s commitment to providinga favourable investment climate to ensure high returns.

The minister made this assurance at the Nigeria-U.S meeting between Africa’s largest urban land developer, Rendeavour; senior officials of the government, representatives of the Nigerian private sector and American investors to discuss ease of doing business and foreign investment. The dignitaries at the forum agreed that Nigeria with its strategic role in Africa must be made conducive for investment to boost investor’s confidence and for investment to thrive.

Onyeama, who spoke on behalf of the President, said they would not betray the confidence the U.S. investors have in Nigeria. The minister said that the high-level representation of the government demonstrated the commitment of the Buhari-led administration to making the U.S.-Nigeria partnership really work.

Mr Enelamah explained that the Federal Government is building the Nigeria of the future where things would be done differently from the way they were done in the past. “There is a sense of urgency for Nigeria’s industrialization, and we are providing the enabling business and investment environment for investors,” he said.

Chairman of Rendeavour, Frank Mosier, who lauded the Nigerian Government for partnering with private sectors, said Rendeavour is currently investing over $250 million on infrastructure in Jigna, a mixed-use development in Abuja with thousands of homes, offices and shops, as well as schools and medical facilities.

According to Mosier, Jigna is expected to catalyse an estimated $1 billion of additional investment in Abuja, and create tens of thousands of jobs.

“Building a 20-year real estate and infrastructure investment like Jigna in Abuja or Lekki City in Lagos naturally has its challenges, but with the support of government, we can ensure that all due process is followed to avoid frustration of foreign investors,”

He added, “Nigeria is an investment destination that no serious Africa investor can ignore, and I assure you that there is no better time than now to invest in Nigeria,” Mosier said.

Executive Secretary for the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Yewande Sadiku, said they are aware of the bottlenecks for investors and businesses and are addressing them.

She also said that the NIPC is working towards achieving $25 billion Foreign Direct Investment by 2020; surpassing Nigeria’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan set target.

The forum was also attended by representatives of the Nigerian private sector and leading U.S. investors, including Rendeavour, Africa’s largest urban land developer, Atlas Merchant Capital LLC, CitiGroup and Massmart/Walmart.

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