The federal government announced on Friday that it had committed to investing nearly $30 billion in the economy over the previous eight months, thanks to the efforts of international investors.
Arise News reported that this revelation was made on Friday in Abuja by Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite during the second Ministerial Press Briefing Series, which was organized by Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammad Idris.
She also denied rumours that the large oil company Shell intended to sell off its offshore assets before leaving Nigeria. Instead, the minister emphasized that the business was growing its onshore assets and operations within the country.
According to the Minister, “Since the President began visiting other countries to discuss ways to increase investment, we have received numerous commitments and pledges for investment, particularly from the oil and gas industry.
“I hosted a few of them last week; they have already pledged $10 billion. Furthermore, a free trade zone’s managing director is present and has pledged his support.
She also disclosed that Nigerian Bottling Company planned to invest an additional $1.3 billion after investing $1.3 billion in the previous ten years and was planning to invest another $1 billion over the next five years, while Seven Up Bottling Company had indicated plans to invest in logistics and recycling for their business.
She continued by saying that Unilever had introduced new product categories this year and reiterated its goal to “be here for good.”
According to Uzoka-Anite, the federal government would also sign partnerships on artisan licensing skills with Germany and the UK. These agreements will enable Nigerian youngsters to reskill and upskill in order to become employable.
According to her, the National Trade Intelligence Unit would be established by the ministry in association with other MDAs.
She mentioned that the Trade Intelligence Unit would serve as the National Coordinator and central repository for all trade-related data and information in Nigeria. It would also make use of cutting-edge technologies like big data, the internet of things, and artificial intelligence to enable Nigeria to forecast trends in the global market to enhance trading capacities.
