The minister of power, works and housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, has said that the Buhari administration would not revoke any contract but would respect and honour every contract which the federal government was committed to. Addressing investors on the privatisation of the power sector at the 5th EU-Nigeria Business Summit in Lagos, yesterday, Fashola said …
The minister of power, works and housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, has said that the Buhari administration would not revoke any contract but would respect and honour every contract which the federal government was committed to.
Addressing investors on the privatisation of the power sector at the 5th EU-Nigeria Business Summit in Lagos, yesterday, Fashola said government has no plan to cancel any contract that has already been entered into during the power sector privatisation.
The minister charged Nigerians who were calling for a revisit of the privatisation to come clear on what they wanted the government to do as there would be no going back on the privatisation but the government could review its policies.
Stating that government was no longer playing an active role in the power sector asides policy making and oversight functions, he urged investors to put their funds in the distribution companies, the generating companies as well as the gas companies.
According to him, there was a huge funding gap in the distribution companies as they require operation capital that would enable them have more meters for distribution as well as transformers.
He noted that the fund needed was a mix of both local and foreign currencies.
On his part, the head of EU delegation in Nigeria, Ambassador Michael Arrion, stressed the need for Nigeria to attract as much investment as it could at this crucial time. Noting that the fundamentals of the Nigerian economy remains strong despite the challenges imposed by the decline in commodity prices.
“Time has come for EU investors to put lesser emphasis on risks and impediments in the Nigerian market and pay attention to the huge opportunities and potentials in the economy.
“A lot of attention is now being paid to manufacturing, agriculture, and agro- allied industries, solid minerals, ICT, entertainment and tourism and many other areas in the non oil sector. The government is also focussing on the development of infrastructure to enhance the productivity of the non oil sector of the economy,” he said.
Tanwa Ashiru
Tanwa Ashiru is a U.S Airforce veteran, and the CEO of Bulwark Intelligence Solutions. She holds an M.A in Intelligence Studies from American Military University (AMU) and is a Fellow of the Association of Enterprise Risk Management Professionals (AERMP).
Tanwa has provided services for various public and private sector organizations including: NATO, Nigerian DIA, U.S Army Africa Forces (USARAF), Total E&P, IBM Nigeria, U.S Embassy Abuja and many more.
She has featured in several international media publications including: BBC World, Arise News, CNBC Africa, The Guardian Nigeria, Channels Television, Financial Times, and many more.