Buhari tells investors in New York , ‘Nigeria requires N348tn investment’

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday in New York, told foreign investors that Nigeria’s economy was ripe for increased investment.

This was as he lamented the reduced private capital inflows, especially Foreign Direct Investment for infrastructure and natural resource access projects.

He noted that Nigeria would require an investment commitment of about N348tn by 2025 even as the government capital expenditure during the period would be N49.7tn (14.3 per cent) while the balance of N298.3tn (85.7 per cent) was expected from the private sector.

“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,” Buhari said at the Nigeria International Economic Partnership Forum held on the margins of the 77th UN General Assembly.

This was according to a statement signed by the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, to the President, Femi Adesina, titled, ‘In New York, President Buhari says investment in security yielding good dividends, woos more investors to Nigeria.’

Buhari, who acknowledged security to be a critical element for investment inflow, pledged that his government would do more to improve security.

He also lauded the Nigeria military for making significant progress in the fight against insecurity and building the momentum in reducing challenges to its barest minimum.

Buhari, who was represented at the opening session by his Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, also declared that in spite of the global crisis fuelled by the Ukraine-Russian war, the lingering COVID-19 pandemic and insurgency in some parts of the country, Nigeria was on course to taking her rightful place in the global economy.

He noted that the quarterly GDP growth in Q1 2022 had been mostly driven by the non-oil sector, giving credence to the revenue source diversification agenda of his regime.

On the domestic front, he argued that the Federal Government was taking some bold, decisive and urgent action to address revenue underperformance, and improve Nigeria’s operations to make it an investment-friendly destination.

According to him, the Integrated National Financing Strategy remained the government’s key pathway to improving infrastructure financing, with the private sector playing a significant role.