The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Anite, disclosed this at a ministerial press briefing organised by the Ministry of Information and National Orientation to inform the public about ongoing economic policies and reforms by the current administration.
She said the investments were made after President Bola Tinubu visited India and other investors in the oil and gas sector.
Anite noted that fuel subsidy removal and foreign exchange unification have attracted investments, accelerating economic growth, job creation, and access to capital.
She said, “The Federal Government has secured an investment commitment of $30bn since we came into power eight months ago. It means the investors are going to bring in the money or a promise to bring in the investment. So the money, investment, proposal and every other thing is done.
“Some have already started building and the investments will come in over a period of five to eight years. Some of the monies will come in form of equipment, direct investments into manufacturing and into the facilities. So that fund is here already.”
She recalled that at the G20 summit in India, a $14bn worth of FDI inflow to Nigeria was announced and actualised, adding that the investments had already begun in different sectors of the economy.
“Since then, we have seen the Confederation of Indian Industries visiting Nigeria to further explore identified investment opportunities. These engagements with India, Germany, Netherlands, UAE, South Africa, and others have opened up avenues for investment and the establishment of joint regulatory protocols,” she stated.
The minister said Nigeria also got an expression of interest from one of the leading steel manufacturers from India, where they pledged $7bn investment in the country’s steel sector.
“From our oil and gas free zone alone, last week, I hosted some of them who came, they have already committed $10 billion additionally,” she noted.
Anite further stated that the Nigerian Bottling Company has invested $1.3bn over the last ten years and plans to invest another $1bn over the next five years.
Continuing, the minister said that the ministry is working in partnership with customs, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Ministry of Finance to automate the export permit process and ensure transparency.
“We are working in partnership with customs, with CBN and Ministry of Finance to make this happen. On the back of that, we committed to automating that whole export permit process, to make it even more transparent and for people to actually see and match and even audit the whole process and ensure that everything that is being exported is being repatriated back.”
The minister also revealed that Nigeria is currently negotiating its accession to the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement, which is posited to be the largest free trade area in the world, with a combined GDP of $3.4tn and access to a market of over $1.3bn people spread across 54 member states of the African Union.
“Recently, I was at the 13th AFCFTA Trade Minister’s meeting where we are actively negotiating Nigeria’s unique position on several crucial matters bordering on digital trade, safeguarding against illegal transshipment under the AFCFTA and tariff lines in specific sectors of the Nigerian economy.
“The successful implementation of the AFCFTA is expected to lead to diversification of exports, improved market access, enhanced trade opportunities and increased foreign direct investment,” she said.
Recall that Nigeria’s capital importation has crashed by 43.55% in the third quarter of 2023, defying efforts by the current administration of President Bola Tinubu to attract investments into the country.
According to the latest capital importation report from the National Bureau of Statistics, the $654.65 million recorded in Q3 2023 is a significant decrease from the $1.16bn in the same quarter of the previous year.
Quarterly, there was a decrease of 36.45% from $1.03 billion in the previous quarter of the same year, revealing a steady decline in foreign direct investments in the country.
