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Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has revealed that the Federal Government has disbursed and allocated over N3.5 trillion from the National budget to infrastructure in the last three years.
He stated that the move is evidence to show that the Buhari administration is repositioning the economy for growth and investor interest. The Vice President who disclosed this on Tuesday at the first Nigeria-UK Economic Development Forum (EDF), hosted by the Federal Government at the Presidential Villa, said that there is also Increased Investor Interest in Nigeria’s Economy.
“In the last three years, the government has allocated and disbursed over N3.5 trillion from the National budgets to infrastructure.
“We have seen increased investor interest in Nigeria by the investment announcements that we track, with $90.9 billion of investment announcements in 2018, a 37% increase over the $66.4 billion tracked in 2017. We are interested in these announcements because we know that if we nurture them correctly, we can turn them into actual investments.
“There is undeniable evidence that the Buhari administration is repositioning the Nigerian economy for true growth and shared prosperity.”
On the relationship between Nigeria and the United Kingdom, the Vice President said, “it is of strategic importance to Nigeria” while welcoming the opportunity to actively grow the commercial bilateral relationship with the United Kingdom through the Economic Development Forum (EDF).”
He gave examples of companies that started in Nigeria and has gone out to list on the London Stock Exchange.
“Already, there are 4 Nigerian companies listed on the main board of The London Stock Exchange, although only one Nigerian company, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc is listed in both Nigeria and the UK. It is also fascinating that about half of the companies on the FTSE 100 have exposure to Nigeria.”
“It will be interesting to see more transactions like this, and several between Nigeria and the United Kingdom. By leveraging the EDF, I hope that we will continue to build on the existing foundation and work together on recording increased trade and investment flows, particularly in the areas where we have comparative advantages,” he added.
According to the Vice President, “The deep and long-standing relationship between Nigeria and United Kingdom indicates that the current level of trade and investments between our countries is materially below the potential the relationship suggests, given that Africa represents only 2% of the UK’s trade relationships, and Nigeria represents only a tenth of that.
“All hands must be on deck, to ensure that we foster the right environment to grow the level of bilateral trade and investment between our great countries.”
The highpoint of the event was the signing of the communique reached at the end of the first Nigeria-UK Economic Development Forum, by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Okechukwu Enelamah and the UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
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