…Raises income to N15m
Omodele Adigun
The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Lagos State branch, has urged the Federal Government to open up critical sectors of the economy for investment just as it has jacked up its earnings by 50 per cent.
According to its Chairman, Mr Kola Abdul, this is to help notch up the global ranking of the country as investment destination.
Abdul, who stated this Saturday at the Annual General Meeting of the Institute in Lagos, opined that Nigeria needs to capitalise on the global liquidity glut by urgently open sectors that have huge potential to attract and retain large investments.
While enumerating sectors ripe for such investments, the CIBN boss listed rail transportation, power transmission as well as oil and gas,saying that weak commodity prices brought the country to its knees and truncated its economic growth,
He stated: ”It has been said that weak commodity prices brought Nigeria’s economic growth to a very abrupt end and inflicted heavy bouts of devaluation to the Naira. Nigeria’s economic growth would have been more resilient if the country had a better rail transport and energy infrastructure that would have underpinned higher value addition in industry.
“Nigeria’s dependence on export receipts as the sole source of external financing made the country more vulnerable than countries who receive large Diaspora remittances and large foreign direct investment(FDI) inflows, in addition to export revenue.
“As opportunities to grow exports are currently limited by the global commodity glut, while opportunities to grow capital inflows are more abundant, given the global liquidity glut, there is an urgent need to increase the global rank of Nigeria as an investment destination. The government urgently needs to open other sectors that have huge potential to attract and retain large investments such as rail transportation and energy, including power transmission, gas and petrol.
“Nigeria’s experience with FDI inflows into the telecoms sector and the recent $1billion Eurobond issue show that capital can flow in shortly after necessary steps are taken.”
On the institute’s finances, Abdul explained that one of the major achievements of his administration in the last one year was the offset of the N4million loss inherited.
A peep into the institute’s financials shows that its earnings rose from N10.55 million to more than N14.95 million.