NIGERIA UNDER BUHARI HAS BECOME DESTINATION FOR INVESTORS, ASSERTS LAI MOHAMMED
Minister of Information and Culture in Nigeria, Lai Mohammed at the weekend said Nigeria under president Muhammadu Buhari was getting global attention from investors since he took over power.
Lai Mohammed who spoke as guest on a Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) programme, “Stepping Up” said the country has been attractive to investors due to Buhari’s “incorruptible leadership”.
“What we have witnessed recently have shown beyond doubt that Nigeria is today an investors’ destination,” Lai Mohammed said.
“Last week we received British Prime Minister, Theresa May. During the visit, several bilateral agreements were signed. Friday of same week, we received German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. Several bilateral agreements were also signed,”
Mohammed claimed “global leaders are coming to Nigeria because this government is providing good leadership in the areas of security and infrastructure,”
“The perception globally about the government is that it is providing an incorruptible leadership, a government that you can do business with, without fear,”
He said Nigeria’s 24 steps ascension in the ladder of ease of doing business is also another reason it is attracting investors to partner and invest in the country.
The minister said the three cardinal goals driving the administration’s success were focus, discipline and integrity.
“We did not invent the Treasury Single Account (TSA), but we are the administration that is disciplined enough to ensure that all proceeds of government go into the TSA,”
“This has helped a lot. Before now, funds belonging to the government were in thousands of bank accounts and the result was that we were paying a lot of bank charges on the accounts,”
“Under the old system, the government could not have a holistic idea of how much fund it had, which hampered planning. Today, every penny of government is being paid into TSA. This has helped a lot,” Mohammed said.
He reiterated the government resolve not to coerce or censor but to continue with advocacy and depend on the conscience of media practitioners.
[GUARDIAN]
