Presidential Research & Communications Unit

The Federal Government today in London, UK, went into an investment overdrive, with Vice President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan leading the charge.

At a special Conference on Investing in Nigeria convened in the UK capital on Wednesday April 22, Dr. Jonathan advertised the investment potentials of Nigeria, pointing out that those currently not doing business in our country were missing out on the massive opportunities Nigeria has to offer.

The Vice President in no uncertain terms underlined the Federal Government’s determination to improve Nigeria’s economic environment, which he said, has led to the introduction of many new incentives to attract more investors to the country in order to achieve Vision 20-2020.

He announced that the Federal Government has put in place measures and policies to ensure that Nigeria becomes a key economic player and the financial hub of Africa by the year 2020.

According to the VP, the country has taken giant strides in the war against corruption and rebuilding the nation’s human capacity to support a modern economy.

Apart from instituting an investor friendly visa regime, he said, the Federal Government is taking measures to rebuild, overhaul and improve infrastructure, particularly power supply and transportation, reduce the cost of doing business in the country and strengthening the enforcement of law and order to tackle security challenges.

His words: “We are taking drastic measures to rebuild, overhaul and considerably improve power supply and transportation in order to increase the efficiency of our national economy and decrease the cost of doing business in our country. To achieve quick and sustainable result, we are among other measures privatizing power and transport infrastructure. Furthermore, we are doing everything possible to strengthen the enforcement of law and order as well as tackle the security challenges of the Niger Delta”.

Dr. Jonathan, however, pointed out that many members of the international investing public are still ignorant of the investment opportunities in Nigeria and what the country has to offer in terms of untapped potentials and attractive returns on investment. He emphasized the relevance and significance of the Honourary International Investors Council (HIIC), coordinated by Baroness Lynda Chalker, to Nigeria’s development and foreign investment drive. “We need the HIIC more than ever before given the ambitious goals of the present administration and the realization of Nigeria’s Vision 20,2020”, he added.

Earlier, the Nigeria High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Dr. Dalhatu Sarki Tafida, explained that in addition to the prevalent conducive economic climate, Nigeria’s huge and resourceful population and untapped natural resources as well as improved economic and political governance are positive conditions for investments. He, however, warned that for Nigeria to continue to attract and retain foreign investments, it must continue to assert its credentials as an emerging market in Africa, worthy of investors.

Dr. Tafida said that the presence of the Vice President at the Conference is a reflection of the importance the Federal Government attaches to the activities of the HIIC in the sphere of Nigeria’s external economic relations and Government’s commitment to forging strong strategic partnership with the private sector in the development of the country.

He noted that the Conference holds immense potentials to assist in the search for new vistas of investment into Nigeria’s economy, especially the non-oil and gas sectors. “This will ultimately reduce the vulnerability of the Nigerian economy in responding to the challenges of the present and future,” he said.

The Coordinator of HIIC, Baroness Chalker, in an introductory remark, commended the efforts of the Federal Government towards ensuring a conducive environment for investments in Nigeria. She said that Nigeria remains a talking point of the African countries and expressed hope that with facts the negative opinions on the country would be eliminated.