eNaira, BVN, TSA, NIN should give investors comfort -Buhari

*Says FG’ll keep encouraging public, private initiatives that increase investments in health, education, others

President Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday, said initiatives to drive the digital economy and fight corruption in the country should give investors comfort.

Among the initiatives mentioned by the president are e-Naira, Treasury Single Account, Bank Verification Number, and National Identification Number.

Speaking at the fifth Edition of Future Investment Initiative Summit holding in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Buhari said his administration will keep encouraging public and private initiatives that increase investments in health, education, capacity building, youth empowerment, gender equality, poverty eradication, climate change, and food security.

The president’s speech was titled ‘Investing in Humanity: The Nigerian Perspective’.

A statement from the presidency quoted the president as urging more interest in infrastructure such as healthcare and education, which “present enormous opportunities for investors in a country our size.”

“Digital Economy in Nigeria has many potentials for investment, as it has remained the fastest growing sector in both 2020 and 2021. Nigeria has many opportunities for investment in broadband, ICT hardware, emerging technology and software engineering.

“We have recently approved the national policy on Fifth Generation (5G) network. Our aim is to attract investors in healthcare, smart cities, smart agriculture among others. The benefit of real time communication will support all other sectors of the economy,” he noted.

To further improve and reposition the economy to attract investors, the President said: “e-Naira, the electronic version of our national currency, which puts us on track to become the first African country to introduce a Central Bank Digital Currency” was launched on October 25th, 2021.

“We believe this and many other reforms, will help us increase the number of people participating in the banking sector, make for a more efficient financial sector and help us tackle illicit flow of funds.

“To further strengthen our anti-corruption drive, increase accountability and transparency, we have centralized government funds through a Treasury Single Account, and ensured that all Nigerians with a bank account use a unique Bank Verification Number (BVN).

These initiatives, coupled with our nationwide National Identification Number (NIN) exercise, reinforce our efforts to tackle corruption and fraud. We believe that this should give investors a lot of comfort.”

He attributed growing social unrest to inequalities and unfair policies that exclude the majority from opportunities for participation, admonishing world leaders and global investors to prioritise inclusive and humane policies.

“By so doing, it will go a long way in reenergizing the global economy in a post-COVID-19 era.

“Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy and most populous nation. Our economic reforms which focus on “humane” investments are ideal for investors looking to have profitable returns while positively impacting the citizenry,” he said.

The president said the COVID-19 pandemic has deepened the debt profile of poor countries, adding that poor countries now allocate more resources to service external debts at the expense of basic amenities.

He argued that nations cannot invest in humanity without relieving poor countries of their debt burden.

“We cannot invest in humanity without relieving our countries from the crushing effects of the debt burden especially when the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the risk of deepening the debt portfolio of poor countries.

“These nations increasingly allocate more and more resources towards external debt servicing and repayment at the expense of the health, education and other services that contribute to the overall well-being of their population,” he added.

President Buhari at the event also explained how his administration took painful decisions to invest for a prosperous future for all Nigerians.

He said upon assuming office in 2015, his government understood the importance of inclusive policies for sustainable peace.

“In the past six years, our government took very painful but necessary decisions to invest for a long-term prosperous future knowing very well that this will come with short term pains,” the President was quoted as saying via a statement issued by his media aide, Garba Shehu.

“Nigeria’s population today exceeds 200 million people. Some 70 percent are under 35 years old. When we came into government in 2015, we were quick to realise that long-term peace and stability of our country is dependent on having inclusive and humane policies,” he added.