Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu has said that the federal government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is committed to creating a favorable climate for investments, urging foreign investors to make Nigeria their first choice of business destination.
Kalu made the disclosure while appearing as a guest speaker at a conference themed “Opportunities and Insights” on Friday in Abuja organized by Evolve Camp, a youth mentorship, national development group.
Speaking on the topic “Unlocking National Prosperity: Assessing the Place of Government Policies in the Prosperity of the Nation”, the Deputy Speaker said Nigeria has made progress in ease of doing business.
A statement by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr. Levinus Nwabughiogu stated that Kalu lauded Tinubu’s determination to make the private sector of the economy thrive.
The Deputy Speaker however asked the inventors to desist from practices that can impact negatively on Nigeria’s environment, heath and safety standards.
He also encouraged the youth to support government policies and also make their input to the legislative functions of the national assembly.
He said: “We must come together when it comes to policy making. What you say here today matters to us because we will be asking for a report on this. We wish to know the mind set of Nigerians and their desires.
“In Nigeria, we recognize that for our nation to thrive, we must provide the
private sector with the ideal conditions to flourish. A thriving private sector
translates into job creation, increased revenue, technological advancements, and overall economic growth. But the question that often arises is: how can public policy convince investors that the government is committed to creating a favorable investment climate?
“As of 2020, Nigeria’s ease of doing business ranked 131st worldwide. With a general score of 56.9. While we have made progress in certain areas, there’s still much work to be done.
“On May 10, 2023, the government of Nigeria approved the first-ever Nigeria Investment Policy. This policy is a significant milestone and a clear indication of our commitment to creating a conducive environment for investors which is very important.
“Foreign direct investors are not looking for too much. They are looking for credibility, the confidence that their projections will be reliable, without any shocks.
“I’m assuring you that this administration is thinking in that direction. If you didn’t have confidence before now, you need to have confidence that Nigeria is good to go.
“It encourages responsible investor’s confidence. One thing is to have investors come into a conducive atmosphere, the other is to have them behave in line with best practices.
“What we have set out to do is encouraging responsible investors conduct themselves in line with global acceptable standards which include those related to environment.
“So upcoming investors should respect our environment, our human rights, our health. It’s important that this balancing is established.
“Safety standards is also very important. You don’t come to Nigeria and lower our standards”.
Noting however the challenges of inadequate infrastructure and bureau bottlenecks in the system, the Deputy Speaker said that they were being addressed, stressing that the anti-corruption was yet another area the government was taking seriously to engender transparency and accountability.
“To further underscore our commitment to responsible governance and
anti-corruption, we are working tirelessly to ensure transparency and accountability are embedded in our policies and practices. We understand
that a corruption-free environment is essential for business confidence and long-term investment”, Kalu said.
