The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari speaking at the fifth edition of the Future Investment Initiative summit held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia said that initiatives to drive the digital economy and fight corruption in the country should give investors a lot of comforts.
The President then went on to mention initiatives such as eNaira, Treasury Single Account (TSA), Bank Verification Number (BVN), and National Identification Number (NIN). He said his regime would keep encouraging public and private initiatives in the country that would increase investments in health, capacity building, youth empowerment, education, poverty eradication, climate change, gender equality, and food security.
He then called for more investment in healthcare and education as they present opportunities for investors in a country as large as Nigeria.
His full statement was “Digital Economy in Nigeria has many potentials for investment, as it has remained the fastest growing sector in both 2020 and 2021. Nigeria has many opportunities for investment in broadband, ICT hardware, emerging technology, and software engineering. We have recently approved the National policy on Fifth Generation (5G) network. Our aim is to attract investors in healthcare, smart cities, smart agriculture among others. The benefit of real-time communication will support all other sectors of the economy.”
He continued “To further improve and reposition the economy to attract investors, eNaira, the electronic version of our National currency puts us on track to become the first African country to introduce a Central Bank Digital Currency. We believe this and many other reforms, will help us increase the number of participants in the banking sector, make for a more efficient financial sector and help us tackle the illicit flow of funds.”
The President highlighted the regime’s anti-corruption initiatives and efforts to increase accountability and transparency which include The Treasury single account that centralizes Government funds, ensuring all Nigerians with a bank account use a Bank Verification Number (BVN) and the nationwide National Identification Number (NIN) exercise. He then attributed growing social unrest to inequalities and unfair policies that exclude the majority from opportunities for participation and admonished world leaders and global investors to prioritise inclusive and humane policies.