The Nigerian Minister of Industry Trade and Investment Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite has promised to attract more investments into the country and expressed determination to promote business friendly environment for indigenous businesses to grow.
Dr Uzoka-Anite who was sworn in on Monday in Abuja by Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu resumed duty as the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment at the Ministry’s head office in Abuja.
Dr Uzoka-Anite was received by the Permanent Secretary, Dr Evelyn Ngige and Directors in the ministry.
According to her, “our work here is to ensure that we create more jobs, more employment, lift people above the poverty line and ensure that small and middle enterprises and industries that are already existing expand and grow better.
“Our job is to attract investments. There is so much opportunity, one of them I have already witnessed here is the human resources.
“If we only just harnessed our human resource potential Nigeria will be great even without our mineral resources, even without our non-mineral resources only our human capital alone is enough to take us where we want to,” she stated.
“Now combine that with the new potential we have with mineral and non-mineral deposits, I think it is just for us to open the doors and say investors please come what do you want, we are here to facilitate that,” the minister said.
Dr Uzoka-Anite explained that projecting Nigeria’s image positively was crucial in attracting investors and ensuring that businesses thrive in the country.
She said “our ministry would ensure that the image of the country out there is as investment friendly as the investments that we have here, so I want to put that on the table and we will be doing a whole lot of branding and image making for the country because we have to re-introduce ourselves to the world.
“Secondly, apart from doing that is to ensure that we showcase the resources and the potential that we have in the country very well. This actually goes into more of having the investment opportunities clearly defined with all the necessary opportunities, processes, procedures that they need to go through,” the minister added.
While describing her resumption of duty as a new dawn, the Minister emphasised the need to do businesses that fit into global best practices.
“This is not the era for growing money alone. This is the era for investment. This is the era to open your doors to attract investors, to bring in people to showcase what you have.”
“A lot of people are out there looking for how to come into the country. It is our opportunity, it is our time to make that happen and I am happy to be on this journey with you,’’ she said.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Dr Evelyn Ngige while welcoming the minister assured her of the support to oversee the activities of the ministry.
She urged the minister to bring her wealth of experience to bear in the ministry’s task of developing economic growth, boosting industrialisation and promoting Micro Small and Medium Enterprises as well as facilitating trade in goods and services.
