Connect with us

Business

Osinbajo claims Buhari’s govt spent N3.5tn on infrastructure in 3 years

Published

on

FG begins implementation of National Livestock Transformation Plan

Nigeria’s Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Tuesday said the government of Muhammadu Buhari has spent over N3.5 trillion on infrastructure.

He made the claims when he spoke at the Presidential Villa during the first Nigeria-UK Economic Development Forum (EDF) hosted by the Federal Government.

Buhari and British Prime Minister Prime Minister, Theresa May, had in August 2018 signed the EDF in London as a platform to foster economic and development ties between Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

At the forum Osinbajo said, “We have seen increased investor interest in Nigeria by the investment announcements that we track, with $90.9 billion of investment announcements in 2018, a 37% increase over the $66.4 billion tracked in 2017.

“We are interested in these announcements because we know that if we nurture them correctly, we can turn them into actual investments.

“By leveraging the EDF, I hope that we will continue to build on the existing foundation and work together on recording increased trade and investment flows, particularly in the areas where we have comparative advantages”.

On the efforts to boost investor confidence in the economy and improve the business environment, Osinbajo explained that the current administration was “not unmindful of the challenges that have hindered the business and investment environment in our country.”

He said, “We have taken these challenges as opportunities and have made the extensive build-out of modern infrastructure (both hard and soft) as the main thrust of our Administration.

“In the last three years, the government has allocated and disbursed over N3.5 trillion from the National budgets to infrastructure.

“The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has made significant progress in reducing bottlenecks, eliminating redundancies and increasing transparency across government ministries, departments and agencies.

“There is undeniable evidence that the Buhari administration is repositioning the Nigerian economy for true growth and shared prosperity.”

According to him, the relationship the country shares with the UK is of strategic importance to Nigeria.

READ ALSO: NNPC to flood market with 2bn litres of petrol every month, from May

“The deep and long-standing relationship between Nigeria and United Kingdom indicates that the current level of trade and investments between our countries is materially below the potential the relationship suggests, given that Africa represents only 2% of the UK’s trade relationships, and Nigeria represents only a tenth of that.

“All hands must be on deck, to ensure that we foster the right environment to grow the level of bilateral trade and investment between our great countries,” he said.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now