UNGA: The Nigerian economy is ripe for increased investment – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has stated that the Nigerian economy is ripe for increased investment, hinting that  private capital flows into Nigeria, consisting mainly of Foreign Direct Investment, have slowed, hindering the financing of much-needed infrastructure and natural resource access projects.

Buhari disclosed this at the Nigeria International Economic Partnership Forum held on the margins of the 77th UN General Assembly in New York.

The summit was held to discuss the possibility of attracting more investors to Nigeria.

Buhari expressed delight that investments in improving security are yielding good dividends, lauding the Nigerian military for making significant progress in the fight against insecurity and building the momentum in reducing the challenges to their barest minimum.

He also pledged that the Federal Government would do more to improve security, recognising that the sector is another critical element in the flow of investment, and overall economic and infrastructural development.

”We will continue to give all necessary support to our security outfits to ensure that they are able to tackle the challenge headlong”, he said, stressing that ”the advantages and disadvantages of investing in Nigeria far outweigh the challenges.”

He added that despite the pandemic and Russian invasion of Ukraine, Nigeria is on course to taking her rightful place in the global economy, attributing the success story to the implementation of reforms aimed at attracting foreign investments and sustained improvement in governance.

He stated that the quarterly GDP growth in Q1 2022 has been mostly driven by the non-oil sector, giving credence to the revenue source diversification agenda of the government and acknowledging that more still needs to be done to improve private capital flows into Nigeria through Foreign Direct Investment and financing for infrastructure.

”The agricultural sector, our most important, has remained resilient in spite of security concerns, low irrigation, limited inputs, and legacy infrastructure challenges, with strong food demand bolstering growth. Growth in manufacturing reflected stronger household and business consumption on account of the reopening of economic activities and improvement in supply chains.

”The present growth in our service sector is promising. Further privatization, foreign investment, globalization and competition will serve to stimulate growth and competition in the service sector and the economy as a whole.

”On the domestic front, the Federal Government is taking some bold, decisive and urgent action to address revenue underperformance, and improve our operations to make investment in Nigeria very attractive.

”Overall, the Nigerian economy is ripe for increased investment. But on the contrary, private capital flows into Nigeria, consisting mainly of Foreign Direct Investment, have slowed, hindering the financing of much-needed infrastructure and natural resource access projects. Our Administration is already working on innovative ways to restore these flows,” Buhari said.