President Muhammadu Buhari has said Nigeria remains the best destination for American investors to put their money.
The President said this on Friday in Washington DC while speaking at the U.S-Nigeria Business and Investment Forum, Business Roundtable organised by the American Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, on the sidelines of the US-Africa Leaders Summit.
He said aside from the population advantage in size and demography, various incentives and policies put in place by the Nigerian Government make it a destination of choice for investment.
President Buhari, in a statement issued by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, said: “It is therefore, imperative that I reiterate at the outset, the comparative advantages that exist within the Nigeria’s economy. First as the most populous country and largest economy in Africa, there is no doubt that Nigeria remains Africa’s largest single consumer market, projected to account for over 15% of overall growth in Africa’s spending, by 2025.
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“Secondly, investors in the country would have access to new markets under the African Continental Free Trade Area, (AfCTA), which would be the world’s largest free trade area, would be expected to connect 1.3 billion people across 55 countries and a consumer market that will be worth over $3 trillion by 2030, and a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) valued at US$3.4 trillion.”
The President informed his audience that despite the global challenges occasioned by COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine, the Nigerian economy had continued to record impressive growth in many sectors.
Buhari, who further apprised the gathering of the sustained efforts of his administration to reverse the pervasive state of insecurity he inherited especially in the Northeast, commended the government of the United States for the support it has rendered in this aspect.
He also informed the gathering of the plans of his administration to ensure that the problem of energy supply was addressed in the immediate future.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, in his remarks, told the audience that Nigeria was politically stable and ready for more investments and the trend would continue because President Buhari had put in place electoral reforms that were enduring, giving room for free, fair and transparent elections.
In her remarks, Ms. Florie Liser, President of CCA said the the organisation had been around since 1993 promoting US and African business and investment relationships.
