BY SAM OTUONYE
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun has wooed international investors to make Nigeria their destination of choice, highlighting the country’s robust economic growth and potential for private sector investment.
Speaking during the meeting with investors on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington DC, Edun highlighted the significant economic reforms introduced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, aimed at driving robust economic growth.
With a 3.8% growth recorded last year, the Minister said that the government is targeting 7% annual growth, driven by strategies to boost agricultural productivity, digital infrastructure, and oil production. He highlighted the government’s commitment to creating an enabling business environment, citing recent reforms such as subsidy removal and market pricing of petroleum products.
“We believe we have started to lay the foundations for a strong, economically strong Nigeria that can attract private sector investment,” Edun stated.
He informed that Nigeria offers vast opportunities for private sector investment and participation.
“We have huge opportunities to crowd in the private sector, particularly in infrastructure development, agriculture, and digitalization,” he maintained
At the meeting, which was also attended by Chairman Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Mohammed Sani Musa; the Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee for Finance, Hon. Saidu Musa Abdullahi; the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria Mr Olayemi Cardoso; the Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Finance Mrs Lydia Shehu Jafiya, the Special Adviser to the President on Finance and the Economy Sayande Okoli as well as Director General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Ms Patience Oniha, Edun emphasized that Nigeria is looking inward to navigate global economic uncertainties, leveraging its large African market and potential for manufacturing growth.
With a focus on private sector-led growth, Nigeria is poised to achieve sustainable economic development, thus lifting millions of its citizens out of poverty.