By COLLINS YAKUBU-HAMMER

President Bola Tinubu says his nine month-old administration has attracted $30 billion Direct Foreign Investment commitments to shore up the Nigerian economy.

Tinubu stated this at the 2023 Leadership Annual Conference and Award on Tuesday in Abuja.

The event, with the theme “An Economy in Distress: The Way Forward”, was organised by the Leadership Group, publishers of Leadership Newspapers.

Tinubu, represented by Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, said the Nigerian economy is not in distress, but facing challenging times.

He explained that the in spite of the challenging situation, the country has attracted unprecedented opportunities to reset the course and build a new and sustainable economy away from the rent-seeking and the waste that was once the order of the day.

“Since we assumed office in May 2023, we have attracted $30 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) commitments into the real sectors of the economy, including manufacturing, telecoms, healthcare, oil and gas, and others.

“Those investments have already started coming into the country. Just a few days ago, I was in Qatar on an official visit, where the Emir assured that a senior government delegation would visit Nigeria after Ramadan.

“I have asked the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy to directly interface with the Qatari authorities to ensure that speedy progress is made.

“The Nigerian economy saw a better than anticipated performance in the last quarter of 2023, growing by 3.46 per cent, compared with 2.54 per cent in the preceding quarter.

“Capital Importation into Nigeria was up by 66 per cent in Q4 2023, reversing a 36 per cent decline in the previous quarter.

“In January 2024, the Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index (ASI) crossed the 100,000 points mark, its highest ever.

“There is no one who looks at this data who will conclude that “distressed” is the accurate way to describe the Nigerian economy,” Tinubu said.

He emphasised that these were the outcomes of ongoing reforms.

Tinubu, however, said the government was aware of the hardships due to the reform, but assured that a lot of effort and energy were been made towards alleviating the pains and setting the economy on firm footing.

“There are incredible opportunities for investment in every sector of the economy, as the Federal Government stabilize our foreign exchange market and macroeconomic indices.

“I ask for the continuing patience and support of all Nigerians, including the elite that is very well represented in this room today.”

The President also sought for understanding of the media as government continues the reform of the economy.

“To the Nigerian media, I urge you to strive to report not only the challenges but also the solutions and the opportunities as well.

“Ours is a story of a country that is taking the right steps, and feeling the fleeting pains that will come with this course of action. A glorious dawn is indeed assured.

“Since the removal of petrol subsidies, our imports of petrol have dropped by about 50 percent, which translates to roughly one billion liters of petrol every month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics,” Tinubu said.

The president added that the revenues accruing to the three tiers of Government; Federal, State and Local had grown by between 50 per cent and 100 per cent since the removal of the petrol subsidy.

“This means more funds are available to directly impact the lives of Nigerians through investments in critical infrastructure, social security, and other areas.

“For example, the additional funding we are receiving is going into a new minimum wage for which negotiations have started, between the Federal and State Governments and Organized Labour.

“I have approved the disbursement of N200 billion, through three new special intervention funds established to support Nigerian businesses.

“The first is a N50 billion Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme that will provide business grants and loans to traders, food vendors, transport workers, ICT businesses, creatives, and artisans.

“Verification of all submitted applications is ongoing, and disbursements will commence through the Bank of Industry as soon as this verification is completed.

“The second is a N75 billion MSME Intervention Fund which will provide single-digit-interest loans to our MSMEs.

“The third is a 75 billion Manufacturing Sector Fund targeting manufacturing businesses, with selected beneficiaries eligible to access up to one billion naira each,” Tinubu said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that awards were presented to several politicians, companies, technocrats and experts during the annual event. (NAN)

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