From Walter Ukaegbu, Abuja
The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Saratu Umar, has said Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and the need to mobilise Local Direct Investment (LDI) has become necessary as the NIPC partners with state commissions to reposition it for a global market.
Umar noted that the last decade has also become versatile where the investment promotion thrust of successful jurisdictions that are attracting the largest global market share of FDI inflows are driven by effective, efficient and performance-driven Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs).
The ES disclosed this at the Stakeholders Engagement Forum with State Investment Promotion Agencies in Abuja stating that with almost 180 IPAs worldwide competing to channel FDI to their different countries, a compelling imperative is established that NIPC is positioned to ensure that Nigeria gets a fair share of this global market.
“The commencement of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area makes it imperative for Nigeria to enhance its investment promotion drive and outclass other economies within the Area, in order to remain the preferred investment destination of choice. Because with ACFTA, an investor can establish an operation in any African Country that is signatory and still access the Nigerian market,” she said.
“Flowing from the foregoing, the investment promotion drive of the country is largely fragmented manner thereby depriving us of cohesive leverage we could have achieved if we synergised our efforts and resources. This absence of a coordination and monitoring mechanism has for the most part left the investing community largely in a state of confusion.
“The coordination of investment promotion activities between the National IPA, NIPC, and sub-national IPAs for the effective implementation of investment promotion activities is largely absent, as NIPC strategises to increase national attractiveness and branding to position Nigeria as a constantly preferred investment destination of choice.
She added that strategies at the national and sub-national levels are put in place to deepen the investment promotion drive of Nigeria and the day-to-day problem-solving for established and incoming investors to develop, harmonise and be implemented. Again, country-level effort should be created for investment promotion under the coordination of the national IPA, NIPC and protocols put in place, to avoid a “race to the bottom” conduct, which will eventually be detrimental.
Consequently, all stakeholders in the investment promotion ecosystem ought to work in synergy and complement our mandates and competencies to facilitate a national investment promotion campaign under the National Investment Promotion Masterplan which will also holistically accommodate investment opportunities at the state levels.