Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has assured investors that Nigeria is safe for investment.
Edun said this at the Nigeria Investment Forum, at the ongoing World Bank/International Monetary Fund, IMF, Meetings in Washington D.C. on Wednesday.
He said efforts were geared towards maintaining fiscal congruence.
“That’s one of the reasons for the new team at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, and their mandate is to increase production and save costs,”; he said.
According to him, the administration was intensifying efforts to diversify and stabilise the economy, adding that optimisation of assets was another route to closing the gap in the budget.
“We need to ensure that we maintain fiscal congruence, the mandate of NNPCL is to increase production and save cost, we are also diversifying the economy.
“We are committed to stabilising the economy so that the private sector will find it attractive to invest.
“Optimisation of assets is another route to closing the gap in the budget, the government believes in the sanctity of contracts,”; the minister added.
He said that the administration of President Bola Tinubu had implemented foundational reforms that were now yielding results, with the country’s economy expanding.
Edun further said that macroeconomic stability was gradually returning as reflected in narrowing budget deficits, improved trade balance, and a stabilising exchange rate, stressing that the government was now shifting its focus to targeted sectoral growth.
According to him, the government top list is agriculture as the entire value chain, with the goals of boosting food security and enhancing productivity.
The minister reiterated that about 90,000km of fiber optic cable to enhance digital connectivity has been rolled out; it is important to empowering Nigeria’s youth and tech entrepreneurs.
Edun said that additional 4,000km of roads have been tendered for private sector participation, with the first 1,000km already signed off for delivery.