ABUJA (Power Ministry Report) – “The Nigerian Government has lined up series of incentives to strengthen investors’ confidence and guarantee return on investment in the power sector,” the Minister of State for Power, Mohammed Wakil disclosed this recently in a Power Africa event organized by the United States Department of Commerce in Miami Florida.
While speaking in a keynote address, Mohammed Wakil said that Nigeria has provided a $300 million partial risk guarantee which is domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria and the World Bank as a major push to protect investors.
The Minister, who attended the event at the invitation of the United States Government also told the gathering of leaders of firms and conglomerates in the power sector that there is a tax holiday and waivers for power equipment importation for the generation, transmission and distribution sub-sectors in the electricity value-chain.
In a statement issued by his Special Assistant (Media), Olawale Rasheed, the Minister assured investors that return on their investments is guaranteed, announcing that very attractive tariff regimes have been put in place for investors in the Renewable Energy Sector to further underscore government’s resolve to encourage investment for enhanced national energy security.
“The Government of Nigeria has achieved what industry experts described as one of the most holistic, ambitious and transparent privatizations of power assets in recent times. The distribution and generation assets have all been successfully handed over to the private sector since November 2013,” the Minister told the gathering.
On the ‘Power Africa’ initiative sponsored by the Government of the United States of America, the Minister announced that the Government of Nigeria is poised to take advantage of the initiative as a strategic opportunity for securing the much-needed investment in the power sector. He further disclosed that at its implementation level, a Power Africa desk has since been established by the Federal Ministry of Power to serve as a one-stop shop for stakeholders in the industry. This, he said will help to put the initiative on track as Nigeria stands to enjoy the full benefits therein.
The Minister added that the Power Africa Desk would attract investments to the Nigerian power sector based on the funding and technical assistance provided by the Government of the United States.
The US Department of Commerce also in a press statement announced that at the Summit, prominent government and business leaders, including Nigeria’s Minister, CEOs of Africa’s major power companies and representatives from the U.S Export-Import Bank and USAID joined to share the opportunities for unfettered access to the energy sector in African markets.
The department announced further that in the coming month, the U.S Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzker will embark on a trade mission to Ghana, Nigeria and Ethiopia to promote U.S exports to Africa towards helping to U.S companies to launch or increase their businesses in the energy sector across West Africa.
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