Harmonised Nigeria Investment Policy may be ready this year

•Document will increase Nigeria’s competitiveness in global market, says perm sec
The much-awaited Nigeria Investment Policy (NIP), a document that will harmonise, update and modernise existing snippets of regulations and give a clear direction on the country’s investment roadmap, may be ready before the end of the year.

This was disclosed, yesterday, at the ongoing second leg of stakeholders’ engagement on the draft document held in Lagos. The first forum, which seeks inputs from critical stakeholders, including the private sector players and industry leaders, was held in Kano.

In her keynote, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Evelyn Ngige, said the absence of a centrally-coordinated framework has made it difficult for investors to accurately assess investment policy thrust and take appropriate decisions.

“Nigeria’s investment regime up till now is governed by the enabling Acts of the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission and several other agencies of the Federal Government. This has made it difficult for would-be investors to accurately determine what Nigeria’s investment policy is.

“It is a fact, however, that African countries that have clearly outlined investment policies have found it easier to attract more foreign direct investment. This is one of the reasons the development of an investment policy for Nigeria has been part of the heartbeat of the industry, trade and investment sector at the federal level for the last few years,” Ngige, who was represented by the Director in charge of Investment Promotion Department of the Ministry, Olukemi Arodudu, told the stakeholders.

Ngige said sub-regional and regional treaties have reduced Africa to a small village, a situation that has increased competition for international investment among countries. Hence, she said, Nigeria must develop policies to make the market attractive and seamless for foreigners.

“It is therefore very important that as we collectively consider the draft policy today and tomorrow, we give it our best so that the final document that will emerge after this exercise will achieve its aim of sustainable development for our dear nation,” she said.

Also speaking, the Director of Legal Service Department, Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), Patience Okala, said the policy document, which could be ready for implementation before the end of the year, rests on three pillars – investment protection, investment facilitation and sustainable development.

The draft, which was initially developed by Prof. Jonathan Aremu of the Covenant University, was built on by an inter-ministerial working group to make all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) own it, she said, adding that inputs are being collated from other stakeholders at a multi-level scale to make its implementation hitch-free.

Okala continued: “The objective of the NIP amongst others is to promote responsible, inclusive, balanced and sustainable (RIBS) investment with a specific focus on the three pillars – investment protection, investment facilitation and sustainable development. These are in addition to the core elements of investment protection and an accentuated prominence of dispute prevention and de-escalation to enable not only investment retention but also investment expansion and reinvestment.

“The development of this investment policy comes at an auspicious time when Nigeria is focusing on economic diversification and when state parties of the AFCFTA are actively negotiating the AFCFTA Investment Protocol, which is anticipated to be a reform-oriented International Investment Agreement to govern intra-African investments. The need for cohesion and alignment of government’s investment priorities at the national and continental levels cannot be over-emphasised.”

Osun State’s Commissioner on Commerce, Industry, Cooperative and Empowerment, Dr. Olabode Olaonipekun, urged the government to make capital importation and repatriation seamless to increase foreign investment. He noted that rigidity in capital mobility was a major challenge scaring foreign investors from Nigeria.