James Emejo in Abuja
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Niyi Adebayo has assured investors that the federal government was committed to addressing the problem of insecurity in the country.
Speaking during a visit by the Netherlands Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Harry van Djik, the minister said President Muhammadu Buhari recently changed his service chiefs and took other security measures to assure Nigerians and the business community of his desire to ensure that the country is safe for all and sundry.
Djik had sought the minister’s consent on the revival of bilateral trade consultation between the two countries.
He further stressed the need for the government to find lasting solution to insecurity and foreign exchange for investors in the country.
The envoy particularly raised the issue on the need to revive the bilateral consultation between the two countries which he said the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic forced a postponement of further meetings.
the minister, however, said his ministry had already set up a working group on the bilateral consultation, hoping that before the end of the year the meeting would be revived.
In a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Ifedayo Sayo, Adebayo further assured investors that he had secured the commitment from the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, on the issue of forex.
He added that a meeting on the issue would soon be scheduled.
The minister, therefore, called on the Neitherlands investors to take advantage of the African free Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to invest in the country so that they can benefit from the huge continental market worth N4.23 trillion as well as cheap labour in the country.
He also urged them to take advantage of the free economic trade zones in the country, stressing that the government is providing necessary infrastructure, particularly power supply at Kano and Calabar free trade zones.
He said the federal government recently signed an agreement for the provision of 25 megawatts of power to each of the free trade zones in Kano and Calabar.
Djik, however, congratulated Buhari and Adebayo on the emergence of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the Director General of the World Trade organisation, describing it as “diplomatic victory for Nigeria.”
