Minister says FG will encourage private sector investment

chika ebuzor

February 17, 2016 7:29 AM

Udoma said that the government was focusing on providing critical infrastructure that would make the country’s business environment attractive to investors.

Senator Udoma Udo Udoma

he Minister of Budget and National Planning, Sen. Udoma Udo Udoma, has reiterated the determination of the Federal Government to create an environment that would attract private sector investment in Nigeria.

This is contained in a statement issued by Mr Akpandem James, Media Adviser to the minister and issued to newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja.

The statement said that the minister gave the assurance when a delegation of Cerberus/DynCorp from the United States paid him a courtesy visit.

The delegation was led by the former Governor of Akwa Ibom, Obong Victor Attah.

The minister said that the government was focusing on providing critical infrastructure that would make the country’s business environment attractive to investors.

He added that attention was also being paid to areas capable of encouraging inflow of investments from the private sector.

Udoma said that the decision of the group to invest in the revival of moribund or ailing industries in the country was in line with the government’s industrial development vision.

Earlier, the spokesman of the delegation, Mr Youssef Boutros-Ghali, told the minister that the group was interested in providing technical services and financing to revive the country’s moribund industries.

Boutros-Ghali, former Minister of Economy and Finance in Egypt, said that Cerebus/DynCorp had expertise in funding and rehabilitation of moribund infrastructure.

He stated that the group could facilitate inflow of foreign direct investments into the country to the tune of at least 1 billion dollars by the end of 2016.

According to him, the current economic reform in the country requires active private sector support and participation.

He said that the operations of the group cut across several other fields such as logistics, technology, agriculture, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals among others.

The statement said that a former Prime Minister of Guinea, Mr Kouyate Lansana, and one-time Secretary-General of ECOWAS Commission, Mr Tibo Sharon, were part of the delegation.

chika ebuzor