Ex-minister tasks FG on investment
A former Minister of Information and Communications, Mr Frank Nweke, has urged the Federal Government to put in place machinery that will attract more investments into the country.
Nweke made the call at the 2nd Nigeria Roadshow of the 2019 Africa Investment Forum (AIF) in Abuja on Tuesday.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the forum which aims at accelerating rapid economic growth in Africa through investments is scheduled to hold between Nov. 11 and 13 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
He said that there was the need for the government to give necessary incentives to private investors to enhance rapid growth of the economy of the nation.
He said, “to attract investors, there was need for high level leadership.
”High level leadership is key because we have seen eight heads of state participating in the Africa Investment Forum and that has helped to really move things.’’
Nweke, however, emphasised the need for early preparations crucial in positioning Nigeria to meet international business and social impact investors looking to invest in Africa.
”Early preparations is also key, not only to prepare for the deals but being able to present them to a wide range of global investors.
”These investors are coming from different classes.
“We are talking about pension funds, Sovereign Wealth Funds globally and in the continent, asset managers, commercial investment bankers so it is a wide array of investors that we are looking at.
“So we need to showcase very high transactions; we need to prepare projects and this is essential,’’ Nweke said.
Similarly, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, Former Minister of Finance, urged the Federal Government to ensure support for the preparation.
“There is need for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to sit down to discuss what we expect.
“This preparation has to be done every time we are going to a forum.
“So when they go, they come into contact with investors and they will be interested in what is being presented.
“The potential investor wants to see where you are coming from, from the beginning to the end they want to see their way through,’’ she said.
The Head Private Sector Investment Operations, the Asia Investment Facility’s (AIF)/ African Development Bank, Mr Odiogo Ezekiel, pointed out that getting the projects bankable was also critical.
“We also have to look at bankability because if you have a bankable project, you do not have to look for financing.
“So the AIF team is happy to support you in terms of getting to that bankable stage in a way that allows for them to be presented before global investors,’’ Ezekiel said.
