Oduwole: Ministry Of Trade And Investment Will Prioritise Retaining Domestic Investment, Boosting FDI For Economic Competitiveness

Nigeria’s minister of industry, trade and investment, Jumoke Oduwole has said that in a bid to enhance Nigeria’s economic competitiveness, the ministry will be focusing on retaining domestic investment while also attracting foreign direct investment (FDI).

The dual approach, she believes, will create a robust business environment that boosts Nigeria’s appeal on the global stage.

She said this during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday, underscoring the critical role of domestic businesses, viewing them as a “best advertisement for the Nigerian economy.” She noted that creating a conducive environment for these businesses—through streamlined regulatory frameworks, reduced bureaucracy, and legislative reforms—enables them to grow, making them powerful advocates for Nigeria’s investment potential.

The minister said, “For competitiveness, one of the things that is a priority for me in this new position is to make sure that we retain domestic investment. This has always been one of the sound bites from all the years of PEBEC, that the domestic businesses are the best advertisement for the Nigerian economy and when you can facilitate business and make things easier, regulatory environment, bureaucracy, legislative reforms, judicial reforms, that makes those businesses more comfortable, more productive and they can scale, and then we can fully advertise and beat our chest for foreign direct investment, knowing that they would get a lot of corroboration from the businesses on ground. So we will continue to work on that. We’ll also continue to prioritise foreign direct investments.”

She therefore commended President Bola Tinubu for actively working to prioritise FDI through recent international engagements, describing him as “the chief investment officer of this administration.” His efforts, which include a recent trip to India, are already yielding tangible results, the minister said, highlighting that just last month, some investment commitments made during the President’s trips were actualised, bolstered by Nigeria’s supportive fiscal and monetary policies.

She said, “All the trips that His Excellency, Mr President, as the chief investment officer of this administration has done over the last 17 months, tracking those trips. What exactly has come out of it? The trip to India, the promises. Just in September, some were actualised on the back of some of our monetary and fiscal policies. So, tracking all that and announcing to Nigerians where we are with investments.”

During the interview, the minister also stated the significance of Nigeria’s trade policy, particularly within the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). She noted that the AfCFTA was one of the most transformative developments in recent years for Nigeria, as this agreement represents a vast opportunity to position Nigerian businesses, especially in the fintech and digital sectors, at the forefront of continental trade.

Oduwole also mentioned that she advocated for Nigeria’s interests in Addis Ababa, at the Council of Ministers for AfCFTA, championing digital trade and ensuring that Nigerian fintech and service industries could expand their reach across Africa.

“Over the weekend, I was at Addis Ababa, at the council of ministers for AfCFTA and speaking to the floor on Nigeria’s particular interest in digital trade and how we’ll support our fintechs and other eco systems in services to make sure that they can really go across the continent comfortably and export their services.”

She further added, “I’ve been engaging with stakeholders for a long time, my team and I are in constant touch and what we are prioritising right now, this first 30 days, exports, really supporting export businesses. We’re having a ministerial consultation session to galvanise and really articulate a strategy because you can strategise from your office but it’s important to consult and know where the shoe is really pinching. We have a fair idea.

“We also want to immediately see how we can reintroduce commodity exchanges. That’s really important for our biggest sector, agriculture and the business side of agriculture. How we make sure that farmers do get economic remuneration for their labour over the course of seasons and years. Then we need to make sure that the policies work for Nigeria. The bilateral agreements, the regional agreements, all the agreements that we need to implement and optimise. And I promised the senate at my screening that I’ll keep the ground running. There are a number of areas that Nigerians have spoken about for a while and we need to be pragmatic about it.”

Melissa Enoch

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